Poor visibility grounds Kenya Airways as 145 passengers stranded at Lungi Airport

Some 145 passengers, 80 of whom were heading for Accra and 73 for Nairobi are presently stranded at the Freetown International Airport, Lungi as a result of hazy conditions which has severely affected visibility levels and has prevented Kenya Airways from landing and instead being presently grounded at the Roberts International Airport in neighbouring Liberia.
This has created an utter embarrassment for not only management of Kenya airways but equally passengers who have scheduled their travel since Tuesday.
Kenya Airway’s Country Manager for Sierra Leone and Liberia Robert Kipruto explained that there is a problem with visibility as a result of bad weather. He said in cognizance of international best practice, if any visibility falls below 8,000 meters or 8 kilometers a flight should not depart from the airport.
He said this warning is normally given by Air-Traffic Controllers together with the weather forecaster in situations of such natural phenomenon. He said that yesterday Kenya Airways came and circled over the Lungi Airport but was not given permission to land since visibility was too poor. As a result the flight opted for an alternate destination which happened to be the Roberts International Airport in Monrovia.
The Country Manager said on arrival in Liberia, the flight crew realized there was similar weather and even found it very difficult to land. He said at the moment 135 passengers are also stranded in Monrovia for which Kenya Airways management is mandated to take responsibility for accommodation and reprocessing of documents if the need arises.
Kipruto said the flight would have departed Monrovia yesterday Wednesday, but because the weather still remains the same, it is yet to take-off.
The Acting Director of the Department of Meteorology Alpha Bockarie said the cause for the change in weather is as a result of the hazy condition which is a suspended liquid and gaseous particle together with smoke in the atmosphere, and that it reduces visibility needed essentially by flights for landing and take-off.
He said the situation is not a new phenomenon but at times the intensity goes far above normal which is the case with the present weather condition. He said it is possible that it will clear after a few days. He said during his work at the Lungi airport 12 years ago, there was a time when the Malian and Sabena Airlines experienced similar problem.
Mr Bockarie said during that period the hazy condition lasted only for a day which is opposed to the present happening. However, he noted that the negative effect of this weather condition is not only limited to flights but humans themselves are susceptible to it. He said the gas emitted has substances that are deadly hazardous to one’s health.
Stranded passengers at Lungi are presently left in a pool of oblivion as to what the issue of the flight would be. They are left fending food, accommodation and other necessities after they were given breakfast lunch and dinner yesterday.
Joseph Cannon, a passenger heading for Accra-Ghana said “I am taking my parents (mother and sister) to Ghana for treatment but their situation is already becoming worrying as we are not told exactly when the flight would come.” He went on, “food is expensive here at least Le 40,000. Since breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday, we have been left on our own.” Cannon said.
Another passenger Andrew Ewoku going to Uganda said “some of us cannot afford to pay 40 dollars to go back to Freetown. We prefer staying here, just in case.” Andrew said they are receiving mixed information about the flight which means their travel is not certain. Andrew and many others who were couched in reclining chairs said “this is possibly where we would be sleeping until God knows when.”
As we went to press BMI and Air France flights had landed last evening at the Lungi Airport signalling a possible return to normality.

Kenya Airways to enhance safety programme

Kenya Airways on Wednesday vowed to continue with its safety programmes in both airport and passenger safety including all ground operators and airline companies that run their businesses within the country's main airport.
Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni said in Nairobi that the airline continuously enhances its safety operational systems in order to ensure safety and quality of service to its customers.

"As an airline that is seeking to strengthen its global presence, we have to ensure we adhere to the highest safety standards," Naikuni said in Nairobi when the International Air Travel Association (IATA) presented the airline with two certifications following a rigorous safety audit of the airline's operations.

The certifications are the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certificates.

"This will also help strengthen and sustain the confidence of our passengers as we seek to grow and open new markets," said Naikuni. He said the move to encompass all players in the safety program was in recognition that airport safety is a collective effort.

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport serves about 4,000 KQ passengers and handles more than 100 aircraft arrivals and departures daily thus the need to enhance security. IOSA is an internationally accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. ISAGO aims to improve safety and cut airline costs by drastically reducing ground accidents and injuries.
Gaoussou Konate, the IATA regional director, commended the airline for its commitment to achieving the highest aviation safety standards. "We note that the airline has strived to enhance its safety performance. These certificates are issued after a rigorous audit under IATA standards," he said. The IATA safety audit comes with some benefits including reduced costs. Since it is internationally recognized, KQ will not have to undergo multiple safety audits in different jurisdictions.
By ensuring that its ground operations adhere to high safety standards, Kenya Airways will ensure its operational costs are low by minimizing damage. "Safe ground operations mean less accidents, less damage and therefore fewer audits," said Naikuni. The ground safety audits covered the period of June and July 2011.
Kenya Airways plans to expand its fleet from the current 34 aircraft to 107 in 10 years. To finance the acquisition of the aircraft, the airline is seeking to raise additional capital through a Rights Issue later this year to fund the acquisition of the new aircraft.