KQ Announces Disruption in Cape Town-Nairobi Route After Bird Strike Incident

National Carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced a disruption on the Cape Town-Nairobi route after one of its planes suffered a bird strike in South Africa. 

In a statement on Saturday, May 9 night, KQ said the plane, which was operating from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Cape Town International Airport (CPT), experienced the incident upon arrival in Cape Town.

“We confirm that earlier today, one of our aircraft operating from Nairobi (NBO) to Cape Town (CPT) experienced a bird strike incident upon arrival into Cape Town.

“The aircraft landed safely at Cape Town International Airport at approximately 1:55 p.m. (East African Time),” read the KQ statement in part.

The national carrier noted that the aircraft was declared Aircraft on Ground (AOG) following a technical assessment.

KQ explained that the plane sustained significant damage to the radome during the incident.

The incident consequently affected the scheduled return flight from Cape Town back to Nairobi.

“Following technical assessment, the aircraft was declared Aircraft on Ground (AOG) following significant damage to the radome. This affected the service flight from Cape Town back to Nairobi,” KQ stated.

The airline said the plane is currently undergoing the necessary inspections and maintenance in line with standard safety and operational procedures.

“Our technical teams are working round the clock to recover the aircraft back to Nairobi within the next 24 hours,” KQ said.

Further, the national carrier apologized to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the bird strike incident.

“We are actively working to minimise disruption to our schedule and support affected customers through communication updates on alternative travel arrangements where applicable,” the airline added.

This comes weeks after KQ was forced to divert its planes to the Moi International Airport in Mombasa due to low visibility at JKIA.

In a statement on April 10, the airline said the disruption affected flight departures and arrivals at JKIA.

“We wish to inform our customers to expect some flight delays for departures and arrivals due to low visibility affecting operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO).

“Some of our flights have been diverted to Moi International Airport, Mombasa. Flight diversion is a necessary safety precaution to ensure the safety of all onboard and remains our highest priority,” read the statement in part.