The number of newly licensed pilots more than halved in 2021 compared with previous periods as the effects of Covid-19 and high training costs took a toll on the sector.
KQ partners beef up fleet as national carrier struggles by MARTIN MWITA Image: Douglas Okiddy
•KQ is also facing stiff competition from neighbouring Ethiopian Airlines, the largest carrier in Africa with nearly 130 aircraft in its fleet.
•Rwanda s RwandAir is also eyeing a pie of the regional and international routes, buoyed by investment from Middle Eastern giant Qatar Airways.
Longtime Kenya Airways partner–Air France-KLM Group has made one of the biggest aircraft orders in the aviation industry, at a time when its relations with the struggling carrier remains frosty.
This is in the wake of a spirited push to nationalise the loss-making carrier which will see KLM, which once had a stake of over 26 per cent, bought out of its current 7.8 per cent stake.