KQ: Why our Dubai bound flight turned back

One of the Kenya Airways Boeing Dreamliners at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Nairobi on July 26, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenya Airways (KQ) has explained why its flight from Kenya to Dubai turned back on Friday, December 15.

In a statement, KQ said that there was a need for a technical inspection after tyre debris from the plane was found on the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) runway.

"On 15 December 2023 at approximately 21:20 HRS, JKIA Air Traffic Control encountered tyre debris during a regular runway inspection. Upon further inspection, it was established by the KQ operations team that the tyre debris was from KQ 310, which had departed on a scheduled operation from Nairobi to Dubai," reads the statement.

KQ says its operations team contacted the Crew and agreed on a precautionary air turnback to Nairobi for further technical attention.

The plane landed at 11:46 pm safely and all its passengers were provided with accommodation as arrangements are being made to rebook them on the next available flight.

According to the airline, air turn-backs are standard safety procedures in aviation