Carriers cancel flights as sole airport fire engine breaks down

[FREETOWN] International airlines have cancelled flights to and from Sierra Leone after a UN aviation regulator discovered that the only functioning fire engine at its main airport had broken down, an airport official and airline staff said on Sunday.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) downgraded Freetown airport after it made the discovery during a spot check, they said.

The top two international carriers to the West African country - British Airways and Kenya Airways - cancelled flights indefinitely from Saturday as a result, leaving more than 100 passengers stranded. "We are working very hard to fix the faulty gearbox system of the fire engine and to add to the fleet," general manager of the Sierra Leone Airports Authority, John Sesay, told Reuters.