Kenya Airways forced to cancel flights due to crew shortage
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Kenya Airways Sunday cancelled five morning flights from Nairobi due to what they termed as shortage of crew
Kenya Airways Sunday cancelled five morning flights from Nairobi due to what they termed as shortage of crew.
Due to a shortage of cabin personnel, national airline Kenya Airways has had to postpone and cancel flights, jeopardizing its earnings during the busiest holiday season.
In the midst of a dramatic increase in bookings, KQ, as the airline is known internationally, is in dire need of crew members to run its flights, according to confidential correspondence between the crew and the company.
Due to the cancellations and delays of flights that began as early as December 3, 2023, KQ will have to pay some of its passengers who have been left stranded in different places and will need to stay in hotels while they wait for their flights.
KQ flights 600 to Mombasa, 432 to Kilimajaro, 350 to Juba, 706 to Lusaka/Harare and 740 to Maputo were cancelled after the crew failed to report to work.
Flight 782 to Livingston/Capetown was experiencing a delay.
For December 14, flights KQ 706-FP, KQ 482-FP, KQ256-FP, KQ762-4FA, and KQ704-FP faced similar challenges.
Seventeen flights have also been delayed in the last two days.
They include KQ2580 which was delayed by 6 hours 20 minutes, KQ610 (2 hours 20 minutes), and KQ612 (1 hour 15 minutes).
Sources familiar with the details said flight cancellations, especially for passengers heading to European destinations come with a heavy financial burden to the airline as the carrier must pay about Sh92,000 per affected passenger in refund.
The shortfall in the number of cabin crew workers comes after KQ let go of some of its staff members in 2020 to cut costs due to depressed earnings caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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KQ chief executive Allan Kilavuka had on Tuesday hinted at the possible disruption of operations due to the crew shortage, coming just as the airline was recovering from interruptions caused by spare parts shortage that saw it ground some of its aircraft.
“Some of our outsourced staff including cabin crew have stayed away from work from Friday and we are working with their employer to resolve any issues they may have,” said the national carrier in a statement.
“As per the safety regulations that the airline abides to, minimum number of cabin staff per aircraft type is required and on some of our flights we are unable reach these levels,” the statement read.
“The challenges of delayed spare parts delivery have eased… We are working closely with our partners and suppliers to expedite delivery and minimise further disruptions,” he said.
“In the wake of the flight disruptions, we are experiencing a ripple effect across our network, which in turn is impacting crew resources.” Mr Kilavuka said on Tuesday.
KQ reported its biggest half-year loss of Sh21.7 billion in August, weighed down by heavy forex losses and a pile-up of debt that has upset its turnaround plan.
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