KQ faces bleak future as it suspends flights to 8 major routes

A week after resuming international travel, Kenya Airways has halted flights to eight (8) African routes as it grapples with the reality of reducing operations due to the ravaging economic effect of the novel Coronavirus.

According to the national carrier, travel restrictions placed by various Governments and regions to stem the spread of the Coronavirus have greatly impacted the aviation sector.

The airline in a statement to press stated that it had been severely impacted by the global health pandemic indicating that its short and medium-term projections indicate that it must inevitably reduce our operations before we begin to scale up again.

With the suppressed demand for air transport, a large part of KQ’s fleet has remain grounded since the reopening of air travel. The airline is also intimated to be operating on a reduced network as it gradually resume services, and has anticipate that it will take some time before the industry starts to rebound.

Kenya Airways has announced that it will not resume flights on the routes;

1. Nairobi – Luanda, Angola

2. Nairobi – Bamako, Mali

3. Nairobi – Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

4. Nairobi – Mogadishu, Somalia

5. Nairobi – Khartoum, Sudan

6. Nairobi – Djibouti, Djibouti

7. Nairobi – Blantyre, Malawi

8. Nairobi – Maputo, Mozambique

“While many airlines have instituted measures to survive, the reality is that the drastic decline in revenues has had a debilitating effect on the airline’s ability to continue operations. The immediate outlook of the industry is not promising. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that air travel will most likely take 2- 3 years to recover to 2019 levels,” read a statement to newsrooms.

The airline has however indicated that it will continue offering connections to its network via the Nairobi hub through its partners. It also stated that the cancellation of routes will not affect any special charter flights on request. Kenya Airways Cargo will also maintain normal freighter services. We assure all our partners that we will work closely with all stakeholders to minimize any disruptions.