Fire disrupts terminal at Kenya's main airport in Nairobi

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya briefly closed one departure terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi after a fire sparked by a baggage system malfunction forced authorities to evacuate passengers and staff, the state-run airports operator said on Thursday.

Operations at the terminal resumed shortly before midday local time, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said.

There were no injuries in the incident, which occurred just before midnight on Wednesday at what is the main gateway into the East African country, the KAA said in a statement.

“All passengers and staff at the terminal were evacuated safely and the fire contained by the airports fire team,” it said.

The KAA did not say whether any flights had been disrupted. Flight operations at the affected terminal had been moved to an adjacent terminal while authorities worked to reopen it, the KAA said.

Apart from the national carrier, Kenya Airways, which uses Jomo Kenyatta as its hub, the airport also serves airlines including Emirates, Turkish Airways, British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

The airport suffered severe flight disruptions in August 2013 when it was engulfed by a fire.