Updated

An official says Kenya's main airport was shut down for hours after an Egyptian airliner veered off the runway.

Dominic Ngigi, spokesman for the Kenya Airports Authority, said in a statement Wednesday that all 123 passengers from the EgyptAir plane were safely evacuated to the terminal building of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. He said that the flight was coming in from Cairo.

Ngigi says that the airport has reopened after it was closed and flights were diverted for nine hours.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is a regional hub where passengers can connect flights to other countries in the region and Africa.

A number of international airlines operate from it including Air India, British Airways, Emirates, KLM, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, South Africa Airways, Swiss International Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic