A Malawi Airlines flight to Johannesburg was delayed for over two hours on Friday after power outage at the Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe.
The Nation Online reported that the plane was expected to leave Lilongwe for Johannesburg at 08:10 today but the flight was delayed following blackout at the airport.
“I can confirm that our flight to Johannesburg via Blantyre today 10 January, 2020 has been delayed due to power challenge at KIA,” said Malawi Airlines Spokesperson, Joseph Josiah.
The Ministry of Transport and Public Works also confirmed about the power outage and added that there was no fuel in standby generators.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport James Chakwera said the airport ran out of fuel because the power outage started at 8PM on Thursday.
“We always have enough fuel but we are frequently facing power cuts hence using more fuel…but we are working to normalise the situation,” said Chakwera.
According to Chakwera, the generators at the airport use 58 litres of diesel per hour.
Meanwhile, a passenger has described the situation as an embarrassment for Malawi saying people have missed connecting flights and appointments because of negligence.
“The flight has delayed with more than 2 hours, simply because no one took responsibility to fuel the generator timely,” the passenger said.
