A fire destroyed much of the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airpor in the middle of the tourist seaspm, the main arrival point for years for tourists wishing to visit the Serengetti and other safari lands.
The BBC said incoming flights have been diverted, but there were no reports of deaths though a few staff suffered minor injuriesK.
Allafrica said domestic and cargo flights would operate from the facility’s cargo terminal.
Thousands of passengers were stranded in Nairobi and elsewhere in the world where their flights were grounded.
While the cargo area was not affected, the international arrival and departure lounges were burned. the BBC said it took a couple of hours for fire trucks to respond. Officials admitted crews ran low on water.
The nearest airports with similar facilities are thousands of miles away, in Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa, and Dakar, in Senegal in East Africa. Kenya has a smaller airport in Mombasa on the coast.
But none of the foreign airports would bring visitors close to the land that has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors since Ernest Hemingway made “the great white hunter” famous.
South Africa and Botswana also offer safaris.
Kenya also attracted many celebrities, starting with Academy Award-winning actor William Holden, who made it his second home.
The cause of the fire was being investigated, and there was suspicion it had to do with a dispute over the ownership of the duty-free shops, according to Allfrica.
“President Kenyatta wishes to reassure the entire aviation industry, investors, local and international travellers that everything is being done to resume normal operations,” a statement from the president’s office said.
In addition to the animal-rich lands of Kenya, tourists also fly to Nairobi to visit nearby Tanzania and Mount Kilamanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.
International aid organizations serving the entire continent are based in Nairobi.
Click here to Book Accommodation in Cradock, Graaf Reinett, Hofmeyer or surrounds.
Article source: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/15149816-gateway-to-east-africa-safaris-burns