National carrier Kenya Airways has been hit by flight cancellations and delays due to a shortage of cabin crew, threatening its revenues over the peak festive season.
Confidential correspondences between the carrier and cabin crew revealed that the airline is desperate for the crews to operate its flights amid a sharp rise in bookings.
The cancellation and delays of flights that started as early as December 3, 2023, means that 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.
“(Good)Morning, should you be in a position to assist? Below are uncrewed today, December 3, 2023; KQ708-1FP, KQ002-1FA,” said the carrier in an internal memo.
KQ did not respond to questions on the extent of the disruption of its flights though a spot check revealed that on December 13, 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.
For December 14, flights KQ 706-FP, KQ 482-FP, KQ256-FP, KQ762-4FA, and KQ704-FP did not have enough crew to fly as the law prescribes.
They include KQ2580 which was delayed by six hours 20 minutes, KQ610 was delayed by two hours 20 minutes, and KQ612 which was delayed by one 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 a refund.
The shortfall in the number of cabin crew workers at KQ was caused by the fact that the carrier had to let go of some of its staff in 2020 to cut costs due to depressed earnings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
KQ chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka had on Tuesday hinted at the possible disruption of operations due to a shortage of crew even as the airline recovered from disruptions caused by spare parts shortage that saw it ground some of its aircraft.
“The challenges of delayed spare parts delivery have eased because many of the necessary components have been delivered... We have now put all our efforts into addressing the remaining spare parts delivery delays that continue to impact other aircraft operations. 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. In response, we are working with our pilots and cabin crew to support our swift recovery plans. Their dedication and commitment to Kenya Airways guests are crucial as we strive to return to our normal, fully covered network as soon as possible,” the CEO said on Tuesday.
The airline is now finding itself in a precarious situation because business has resumed post Covid and this means that it has to deploy more crew members and aircraft to service routes that were idle during the Covid-19 period.
KQ currently flies to 53 destinations, up from 47 in 2010.
The airline faces stiff competition, not just from major players like Qatar, Emirates, and Turkish Airlines, but from African carriers as well.
