Kenya Airways Explains The Cause Of Service Disruption

By Samuel Ouma

Kenya Airways has attributed the ongoing service disruptions to delays in getting back its aircraft which are undergoing scheduled maintenance.

In a statement, Kenya Airways Managing Director Allan Kilavuka said there are global challenges with the supply of some aircraft components occasioned by the Ukraine war crisis, which has significantly crippled the Russian supply chain crucial to global aviation.

According to him, the aviation supply chain highly depends on raw materials from many countries, including Russia. He pointed out that 100% titanium used on Embraer and 35% titanium used on Boeing are sourced from Russia.

“We wish to inform our customers that we are experiencing some flight disruptions. These are as a result of delays in getting our aircraft, which are undergoing scheduled maintenance, back into operations due to global challenges with the supply of some aircraft components. This has constrained our aircraft availability because we do not have extra aircraft capacity to help alleviate the delays. These challenges are global and affect not only Kenya Airways but all airlines globally,” read part of the statement.

“Additionally, in Europe and North America, where most airlines get their components, manufacturers are looking to ramp up production of aircraft components to overcome delivery delays. However, that is proving to be difficult because of a shortage of qualified workers. This has exacerbated the delay in supply chains and compromised the availability of components for airlines,” the statement started further.

KQ assures its customers that it works closely with its partners to find a solution that minimizes disruptions.

However, if supply chain challenges persist, the airline may have changes in its flight schedules with reductions in some frequencies.