Europe’s winter fog stalls Kenya Airways New Year flights

Corporate News

A Kenya Airways plane at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE 

By MUTHOKI MUMO, mumumo@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Heavy fog blanketed parts of the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, frustrating traffic at key airports in those countries.

Kenya Airways’ customers were among hundreds of passengers whose New Year travel plans were messed up due to poor weather in Europe and the Middle East.

Heavy fog blanketed parts of the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, frustrating traffic at key airports in those countries.

In the United Arab Emirates, government officials issued warnings that fog had reduced visibility to less than 100 metres, affecting the world’s busiest airport in Dubai.

“We have not cancelled any flights. Merely delayed or diverted them due to bad weather. The disruption remains mostly in Europe and UAE,” said Kenya Airways in a statement on Monday.

Checks by the Business Daily on the website flightradar24.com indicated that a Kenya Airways flight to Paris had been delayed by over five hours on December 31 while a flight to London was yesterday delayed by over four hours.

Some passengers took to social media to vent their frustrations.

“@KenyaAirways still on ground. Are we going to reach Dubai for New Year’s Eve party that we have paid (sic)” tweeted @Mohamed1172k on December 31.

The phenomenon is affecting not just KQ but other airlines. British Airways recorded delays while Heathrow Airport in London reported that at least 119 flights had been cancelled by December 30.

KQ passengers on social media took issue with the airline’s response to the crisis.  Another passenger, Joyce Murigi, narrated her frustration on Facebook after her flight to Paris was diverted to Amsterdam.

She and fellow Kenyan passengers faced problems booking onward tickets and navigating their way around Schiphol Airport due to lack of European Union visas. They also had problems booking overnight accommodation and accessing their luggage.

“.. but give your stranded passengers @Paris CDG at least food vouchers, the ones without visas are mad. Over 30 hrs huko,” tweeted @KENYANYUGI.

UK’s National Air Traffic Control Service said that fog caused the airline delays since greater spacing is needed between aircraft during conditions of poor visibility.

Twenty one per cent of KQ’s turnover came from its European routes in the year to March 2016.  KQ has seven flights per week to Paris and Amsterdam. The two cities are key links in its network as they are hubs for the carrier’s code-sharing partners, KLM and Air France.

Kenyan holidaymakers had a tough time flying this season. Thousands of domestic tourists were last week stranded after JamboJet cancelled flights to Coast destinations due to technical problems. 

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has since said that it is investigating the conditions surrounding the JamboJet delays.