Much as Kenya’s national carrier (KQ) is the ‘Pride of Africa’, Kenya Airways problems erode this legacy. The deal breaker for KQ is flight delays and cancellations, which travellers are salty over. Yet, it’s among the leading regional airlines flying in droves of tourists and business travellers throughout the year. Continued delays and flight cancellations are a ticking time bomb that threatens the airline’s reputation and economics.
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What are the Challenges Facing Kenya Airways?
Flight delays are currently a major challenge affecting KQ operations and tourism players insist that the time has come to sort it out. A barrage of complaints by travellers for the last two years border on an increasing trend of delayed flights. Sometimes, it gets worse with cancelled flights.
While flight delays are common in the airline industry, they’re not as prevalent as those for KQ. Most people who have been affected by this more than once have shifted their loyalty to other airlines and not Kenya Airways. The aftereffect is the loss of customer base and reputation.
Kenya Airways crew at a past event. Photo/Capital News
A dozen passengers have openly voiced their concerns after missing their connecting fights while using KQ. Mohammed Hersi, a hotelier and former chairman of Kenya Tourism Federation has been affected by Kenya Airways problems majorly delayed flights.
“For the past 2 years, flight delays have become the norm. I have been affected numerous times even on my personal flights. Missing connecting flight to Turkey from Mombasa upon landing in Nairobi. We have tourists who miss their connecting flights which means more connections are then affected,” he wrote on his X page.
How Do You Solve Kenya Airways Problems?
Hersi, a seasoned tourism expert, tracks the root cause of KQ’s delayed flights since 2022 to the airline’s pilots. He notes that an artificial shortage of commercial pilots is to blame for the increasing delays. It is a sad reality brought about by a contentious collective bargaining agreement between pilots and the airline between 2022 and 2023.
The Baobab Beach Resort & Spa proprietor terms this CBA ‘lopsided’ as it gives pilots irrational privileges at the expense of KQs wellbeing. They include:
- Long resting hours
- Abuse of sick leave
Long Resting Hours
Captain Koki Mutungi, a Kenya Airways pilot on the captain’s deck. Photo/YouTube
Compared to more successful airlines such as Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines KQ pilots enjoy longer resting hours. They log between 60-65 flight hours every month while their peers in Ethiopia have 72-75 flying hours each month. Although the resting time was conceived with peak pilot performance and safety in mind, it affects some fights in some cases.
They enjoy a 72-hour rest for approximately 10 and a half hours of flying time. Comparatively, Emirates pilots get 36 hours of rest for the same flying hours as KQ pilots. Such lengthy resting periods are counterproductive because they weigh down the airline’s optimal operational speed. They only add to Kenya Airways problems.
On the brighter side, KQ can maximize operational efficiency by slightly adjusting the resting hours of its pilots.
Abuse of Sick Leave
Confirmed reports indicate there are repetitive instances where pilots obtain sick leave moments before a flight. This has left passengers stranded which raises questions about standby pilots’ availability. Airlines have fallback plans to fill in a gap left by a crew member who doesn’t report to work due to an emergency.
In KQ’s case, the delay caused by a pilot calling in sick has exceeded two hours and that’s a statement of unpreparedness. Other challenges that KQ faces call for action at the top. They include:
- Longer swapping time for aircraft in case of a breakdown
- A huge route network catered for by few aircraft
- Inadequate manpower to repair planes on time
Is Kenya Airways Reliable?
Kenya Airways is one of the best airlines to fly to Kenya. Photo/ Kenyan Wallstreet.
KQ is a reliable airline despite increasing cases of delayed flights reported in the last two years. World Travel Awards 2023 named KQ’s Economy Class the best in Africa for the fifth time. Subsequently, Msafiri Magazine, an in-flight magazine emerged as the best in its category according to the World Travel Awards.
Passengers in the Economy Class get free drinks – alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Meals served for long-haul flights are delectable and the cabin crew is friendly. In 2024, London-based World Airline Awards hosted by Skytrax named KQ the ‘Best Airline Staff Service in Africa’.
Long resting hours guarantee the safety of passengers and the mental well-being of KQ pilots and crew. Unfortunately, they negatively affect the operational efficiency of the airline. Luckily, this can be solved by reducing the resting hours slightly. Also, the airline should ensure its sick leave policies are adhered to. In cases where a pilot can’t make it, there should be standby personnel to sit in for them without major delays.
