Cape Town International Airport experienced one of its most significant operational disruptions in recent months on 4 August after Kenya Airways flight KQ784 from Nairobi suffered a tyre failure shortly after landing at approximately 15:25 local time.
The Boeing 737-800, registered 5Y-CYC, became disabled on Runway 19, preventing its immediate removal and forcing Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) to suspend normal runway operations while emergency teams responded. The closure of the airport’s primary runway quickly had a ripple effect across the network, affecting both arriving and departing traffic.
After departing Nairobi several hours behind schedule, the flight entered a holding pattern over the Western Cape before diverting to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) due to poor weather in Cape Town. Following a wait on the ground for conditions to improve, the aircraft departed for Cape Town once again, where the tyre failure occurred during landing.
With Runway 19 blocked, arriving aircraft were diverted to alternate airports while international departures were temporarily suspended, with domestic operations continuing where possible on Runway 16.
Passengers described a dramatic end to the flight, with one traveller saying they saw fragments of rubber pass their window immediately after touchdown before the aircraft came to a stop on the runway.
ACSA later confirmed the disruption was caused by the tyre failure and advised that delays would continue even after the runway reopened. Kenya Airways confirmed that all passengers and crew disembarked safely without injury and subsequently cancelled the return service, KQ785.
