Kenya Airways said late on Monday that there had been delays in acquiring aircraft parts needed for maintenance, which has caused flight cancellations.
One of Africa’s largest airlines, according to Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka, may have to slash some flights if the difficulty in obtaining the components continues.
“The challenges have been occasioned by the Ukraine war crisis, which has significantly crippled the Russian supply chain crucial to global aviation,” he said.
He mentioned Russian-produced titanium as one of the essential raw elements utilised by the aviation sector and essential to maintaining aircraft.
Through its hub in Nairobi, Kenya Airways, whose business strategy centers on connecting travelers from Africa to the rest of the globe, operates a fleet of Boeing and Embraer aircraft.
It should be recalled that in November, Kenyan Airways delayed salaries for their over 3,500 employees. However, Kenya Airways pilots resumed operations on Wednesday, November 9, after a four-day pilots’ strike that saw flights cancelled.
In December 2021, Kenya Airways’ boss Kilavuka said the national carrier could not pay its pilots their full salaries because of the economic crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
KQ recorded a KSh 9.9 billion loss in the first half of 2022. This was an improvement from the KSh 11.5 billion it registered in a similar period in 2021.
The airline said the loss was attributed to high fuel costs, which saw it spend KSh 11 billion during the first six months of the year.