Kenya Airways has been forced to cancel and delay flights as it grapples with cabin crew shortage.
According to a report by Business Daily, this is threatening the national carrier revenues, at a time when demand is high because of the festive season.
The airline is said to be in dire need of cabin crew as the number of bookings increase sharply.
The report further indicates that cancellation and of flights began on December 3.
“(Good) Morning, should you be in a position to assist? Below are uncrewed today, December 3, 2023; KQ708-1FP, KQ002-1FA,” KQ said in an internal memo to its staff.
” KQ will have to forego revenue and compensate some of its passengers stranded in various locations and have to be accommodated in hotels as they wait for the flights,” Business Daily reported.
It was further stated that flights KQ102-FA, KQ792-FA, KQ250-FP, KQ310-FP, KQ2-FA and KQ 624-FA did not have enough crew as per the law to fly on December 13.
On December 14, several flights faced a similar challenge while in the last two days, a total of 17 flights have experienced delays.
The shortage comes just three years after KQ laid off some of it’s employees to cut costs due to low earning as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.
KQ boss Allan Kilavuka on Tuesday however said that the airline was working to ensure that interruptions are minimized.
“The challenges of delayed spare parts delivery have eased… We are working closely with our partners and suppliers to expedite delivery and minimize further disruptions,” he said.
