Feb, 9th 2021 – Kenya Airways is in talks with the government to become the country’s principal cargo carrier to fill the hole left by reduced passenger numbers.
The airline is converting two of its dream liners to carry cargo at a cost of Ksh.60 million with CEO Allan Kilavuka saying this will increase the airline’s cargo capacity by 10%.
Kilavuka further said they are capitalizing on the increased E-commerce market in the country. Even after resumption of passenger flights last year, passenger numbers have continued to be low prompting national carrier Kenya Airways to rethink its strategy.
This comes days after the Kenya civil aviation authority gave a go ahead to KQ to convert some of their passenger flight to cargo .
Director general of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, Gilbert Kibe, said the project is economically significant as it will retain and create new jobs as well as support Kenya Airways in its recovery efforts to diversify revenues.
“More importantly, with the upcoming vaccination distribution, Kenya Airways has readily positioned itself to transport the vaccines destined for Africa and other destinations.” he added.
The carrier has suffered losses just like other global airlines due to the COVID 19 pandemic but experts say Kenya airways was still struggling prior to the pandemic.