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International flights have begun landing at Nairobi’s international airport a day after fire gutted the arrivals hall, causing serious disruption.

A plane from London was the first to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 06:30 local time, Kenyan airport authorities said.

Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also arrived.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Kenyan authorities say no serious injuries were reported.

The Nairobi airport is a regional hub serving more than 16,000 passengers daily and its closure caused widespread disruption.

International flights into the city had been diverted to other airports in Eldoret and the coastal city of Mombasa.

On Wednesday the interior ministry announced the resumption of domestic and cargo services.

The fire took about four hours to bring under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted.

International flights have begun landing at Nairobi's international airport a day after fire gutted the arrivals hall

International flights have begun landing at Nairobi’s international airport a day after fire gutted the arrivals hall

The Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) said that Kenya Airways flights were arriving and taking off “now at more or less normal operations”.

Other international airlines had not yet clarified their operations, it added.

The fire started in the airport’s international arrivals and immigration area at around 05:00 on Wednesday and spread quickly.

Questions are being asked about why so few fire engines were available initially.

It appears that some engines got stuck in the Kenyan capital’s notorious traffic jams. Many engines at the scene also quickly ran out of water.

Soldiers and police even came with buckets to help put out the fire, Sylvia Amondi, who was at the airport to pick up a relative who had been due to arrive there, told AFP news agency.

A third of Europe’s flower imports, and many fresh vegetables, come from Kenya and the Kenya Flower Council exporters’ association described the fire as “disastrous”.

Shares in Kenya Airways, which uses the airport as its main hub, fell 2% after the fire.

Foreign airlines which use the terminal include British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, KLM, Turkish Airways, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways. Several cancelled flights to Nairobi on Wednesday.

The country’s anti-terrorism chief, Boniface Mwaniki, has said he does not believe the fire – which happened on the 15th anniversary of the bombings by al-Qaeda of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – was connected to terrorism.

Correspondents say the airport is old and overcrowded.

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Spanish airline Iberia workers have begun a five-day strike in protest at planned cuts to jobs and salaries.

Iberia has cancelled more than 400 flights out of 1,000 scheduled for this week, with cabin crew and baggage handlers staging the walk-out.

A lack of services at Spanish airports are expected to affect more than 1,000 flights from various airlines.

Iberia has announced plans to cut 3,807 jobs after it reported mounting losses last year.

In the first nine month of 2012 it lost 262 million euros ($349 million).

Unions are planning three separate five-day strikes in February and March.

Iberia workers have begun a five-day strike in protest at planned cuts to jobs and salaries

Iberia workers have begun a five-day strike in protest at planned cuts to jobs and salaries

Iberia said 70,000 passengers would be affected by the first strike, though in a statement the company said 60,000 had been found seats on alternative flights.

It said 90% of long-haul flights would be operating, but domestic flights would be the worst affected, with more than half of flights grounded.

Analysts suggest 15 days of strikes could cost Iberia up to 100 million euros.

Iberia merged with British Airways in 2011 to create International Airlines Group, and the new management has been trying to cut costs.

Iberia has been hit by increased competition from low-cost carriers and a prolonged recession in its home market.

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