East African carrier, Kenya Airways has suspended 8 of its network in the continent due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the operations of the carrier.
It said: “The global economy is today experiencing a deep downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel restrictions placed by various Government and regions to stem the spread of the Coronavirus have greatly impacted aviation the aviation sector.
“While many airlines have instituted measures to survive, the reality is that the drastic decline in revenues has had a debilitating effect on the airline’s ability to continue operations. The immediate outlook of the industry is not promising. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), projects that air travel will most likely take2-3 years to recover to 2019 level.
“As with other airlines, Kenya Airways had been severely impacted. Our short and medium-term projections indicate that we must inevitably reduce our operations before we begin to scale up again. With the suppressed demand for air transport, a large part of our fleet will remain grounded. We will also operate a reduced network as we gradually resume our services, as we anticipate that it will take some time before the industry starts to rebound.
“Therefore, following a thorough review, Kenya Airways announces that it will not resume flights on the routes below in the immediate future:
Nairobi – Lunda, Angola
Nairobi – Bamako, Mali
Nairobi – Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
Nairobi – Mogadishu, Somalia
Nairobi – Khartoun, Sudan
Nairobi – Djibouti, Djibouti
Nairobi – Blantyre, Malawi
Nairobi – Maputo, Mozambique
“The decision is an extremely difficult one in the current environment. However, this action is necessary as we resume operations gradually as determined by passenger travel demand regionally and globally.
“We will however continue to offer connections to our network via the Nairobi hub through our partners. Further, this action will not affect any special charter flights on request. Kenya Airways cargo will also maintain the normal freighter services. We assure all our partners that we will work closely with all stakeholders to maintain any disruptions.”
