Cape Town airport runway closed after plane’s tyres fail, passengers safe

The main runway at Cape ‌Town International Airport was temporarily closed ‌after a Kenya Airways ‌plane’s ⁠tyres failed on ⁠landing, but all passengers were safely taken off the ​plane, South ‌Africa’s airports operator said on Tuesday (August 4, 2026).

Airports Company South Africa said ‌the tyre failure ​happened around 1525 local time (1325 GMT). As ⁠of 1800 local time the plane was ‌still disabled on the runway, a spokesperson said.

All arriving flights are being diverted to other ‌airports. Domestic departures are operating ​but not international departures. Cape Town is a ⁠popular tourist city and ⁠its main airport the second-busiest in ‌South Africa.