Kenya’s national career Kenya Airways has seen its loss reduce at the end of December 2021 by as much as 57%, owing to the recommencement of travel and the easing off of COVID19 restrictions.
From a loss of 36.2 billion Kenyan shillings recorded in 2020, the company’s earnings have increased to 15 billion shillings, leading to the group’s total revenue increase by 33% to 70.2 billion shillings.
In a statement released following Kenya Airway’s investor briefing on Tuesday, the company explained that it was able to reduce its annual net loss by implementing various cost-containment measures, whilst preserving and diversifying its revenue while operating expenses were cut by 3.62%.
The company’s chairman Michael Joseph further added that the revenue accrued to the group could have been higher without the sudden spread of the Omicron variant that disrupted travel toward the end of 2021 as well as a ban on flights into the United Arab Emirates.
“Following the worst year on record for the aviation industry, we are seeing strong signs of recovery, particularly in US domestic travel and a more moderate recovery in international travel. The year 2021 was a challenging one for the aviation industry. Just when travel restrictions were easing up and recovery was looking good, the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted this improved performance. Throughout the year, we continued with our efforts to improve our flexibility and service offering to customers. The restructuring and transformation initiatives made during the year 2020 lockdown contributed immensely to the recovery during the second half of the financial year 2021,” he said.
Kenya Airways has been a major factor in the country’s resources. In February, there’s was a planned $466 million bailout included in the supplementary budget. The company however says it has not received the funds yet.
