Kenya airport fire: Slow return of int'l flights

International flights began landing and taking off from Nairobi's fire-damaged airport today, but officials said the full slate of overseas flights has not yet been resumed.
The Kenya Airports Authority said it is working to ensure normal services after yesterday's fire destroyed the arrivals hall at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. It turned into an inferno in part because of a slow and inadequate response from fire fighters.
"From what you can see the damage is pretty extensive. It has extended until the immigration area. The electrical system is all down. Mechanical systems are all down. You can see the displays are all down, so it's huge," Ali Ayoob, an airport engineer said.

The fire disrupted air travel across the continent as this airport is East Africa's largest aviation hub. All the international flights were cancelled yesterday. Many inbound flights were also diverted to Tanzania and the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.
The Interior Ministry said that the local flights are being operated from the airport's cargo terminal.
"We urge travellers to remain patient as we work on having everything in place," the ministry said.

Firefighters were desperately short of equipment yesterday. The airport has fire trucks but some were not filled with water and personnel couldn't be found to drive others. At one point while battling the blaze men in government uniforms lined up to pass buckets of water to fight the fire.

No serious injuries were reported.
President Barack Obama called Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to offer US support. The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Officials have not yet released the cause of the fire. Terrorism does not appear likely.
Nairobi is the capital of East Africa's largest economy, but public-sector services such as police and fire departments are hampered by small budgets, corrupt money managers and outdated equipment or an absence of equipment.