Bluebird Is Ready To Offer Charter Flights To Help KQ

Bluebird aviation has announced that it is ready to take up passengers on charter flights to help ease current flight disruptions in the country following a strike by Kenya Airways (KQ) pilots.

“We are ready to take in passengers on a charter flight basis. We welcome all passengers currently stranded in various airports to come and savor our unrivaled experience with more customized services,” Bluebird Aviation General Manager, Captain Hussein Mohammed said.

The Kenya Airways pilots downed their tools on Saturday, a move that left about 10,000 passengers stranded. The pilots say KQ management has refused to listen to their grievances despite the push. The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) has blamed Kenya Airways management for using threats and intimidation against its members instead of listening to their grievances. At the same time, KALPA wants a complete shift of the management at KQ for failing to turn around the ailing airline.

On his part KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka termed the strike ‘’illegal’’ adding that as a result, the country will lose 300 million shillings daily. KQ has commenced disciplinary actions against the striking pilots. The pilots have however vowed to continue with the strike until their demands are met. The carrier has resumed operation for specific routes.

Quantifying the strike losses, the KQ boss said Saturday midnight, 56 flight cancellations had been reported while 12,000 passengers were disrupted 500 of whom have been accommodated in Nairobi hotels.  A total of 15 planes have been grounded, with 6,000 tons of cargo affected, a move that will highly affect the ailing airline’s earnings by the end of the year.

“We have not been able to carry any fresh produce to the Middle East and Europe since yesterday on average we carry 150 tonnes, we have also not been able to bring into the country some pharmaceuticals about 20 tonnes on average per day,” Kilavuka said.

Kenya is a trading hub and the strike spells doom to the country’s economy. The carrier reported that in the year to December 2021, the cargo business grew 29 percent to 63,726 tonnes. Cargo accounted for 19 percent of its 70.22 billion shillings sales in the year to December 2021.

Total revenue in the review period bumped 32.98 percent to 70.22 billion shillings. At the same time, it reported a net loss of 15.8 billion shillings. The airline made a profit last in 2012 when it closed with net earnings of 1.66 billion shillings.