Kenya Airways Suspends Flights to Kinshasa Over Detention of Employees by Military Intelligence Unit

By Samuel Ouma

Kenya Airways (KQ) has suspended all flights to Kinshasa in response to the detention of its employees by the Military Intelligence Unit of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In a statement, the airline's Managing Director and CEO, Allan Kilavuka, said the suspension will be effective April 30.

CEO Kilavuka stated that the detention of their employees has disrupted their activities in the capital of DRC.

"Due to the continued detention of our employees by the Military Intelligence Unit in Kinshasa, we are unable to support our flights without personnel effectively. As a result, we reached a difficult decision to suspend flights to Kinshasa effective April 30 2024 until we can effectively support these flights," said CEO Allan Kilavuka.

“The continued detention of our employees has made it difficult for us to supervise our operations in Kinshasa, which include customer service, ground handling, cargo activities, and generally ensuring safe, secure, and efficient operations.”

Kenya Airways wants its detained employees to be treated with humanity and respect as it calls for immediate release.

KQ apologized to its customers and urged those impacted to contact the customer excellence team through various communication channels.

At the same time, the airline said it has joined forces with the investigating agencies and the relevant government entities in both DRC and Kenya to resolve the matter.