When my business trip itinerary came through and I realised the organisers of the function I was going to attend in Johannesburg had booked me a flight on Kenya Airways, I crossed my fingers, hoping against hope that I would not experience those crazy flight delays now almost synonymous with KQ.

Come the day of travel and I was at the airport on time, driven of course by the fear of missing my flight. And KQ did not disappoint. The flight was delayed an hour and a half. I did not mind really because I have been through worse with this carrier.

We finally boarded but then stayed on the tarmac for almost 20 minutes waiting for take-off when an announcement came over the intercom that the delay was caused by a flock of birds.

As we finally took off, I could see a swarm of black birds on the field next to the landing runway, and I wondered how the crew on the ground managed to keep them off the runway.

Before leaving Nairobi, I had seen a few pictures making the rounds on social media of flooded roads in Johannesburg, the effects of a storm. What I did not know or anticipate was the stormy weather in the South African capital would last that long and was so bad that it caused delays in the aviation sector that made the journey twice as long.

As we entered South African airspace, we were informed that we could not land at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg due to the storm that had hit the area earlier in the day.

The plane was forced to circle while waiting for clearance from the control tower to make an approach.

After what seemed like forever, we were informed that our flight had been diverted to Gaborone Airport, 400km away from Johannesburg and approximately 50 minutes flying from OR Tambo airport.

We were to wait at this airport until it was safe to land in Johannesburg.

At Gaborone, the weather was fair. We refuelled and stayed in the plane on the tarmac for almost an hour. By now, man hours had been lost, business people who had scheduled meetings had definitely missed them. I missed my press conference but at least we arrived safely.

Most of the time, an airline is to blame for flight delays, but when it happens due to natural causes, there is nothing much anyone can do, but wait. But being aware of the weather conditions of your destination can help you plan for any eventuality.