Kenya Airways has resumed international flights to about 30 destinations for the first time since the routes were suspended in March because of the coronavirus.
The carrier, in which Air France KLM holds a small stake, resumed domestic flights in mid-July after the government cleared local air travel.
“We announced we are starting with 27 destinations. We increased it to 30 just following demand,” Allan Kilavuka, chief executive officer of Kenya Airways, said at a ceremony before seeing off a flight to London.
He said for the rest of the year the airline expected demand to remain below 50% of capacity but it would increase flight frequencies depending on demand.
“In fact, 2020, we call it a lost year. Because at some point we even see a demand of 25% in some months, in some months we see 38%,” he told Reuters.
The COVID-19 pandemic has depressed the global aviation industry, with African carriers alone expected to lose US$6 billion this year in revenue.
In July, Kenya Airways said it would lay off an unspecified number of workers, reduce its network and offload some assets because of the coronavirus crisis.
Last in, first out
Kilavuka said so far the company had laid off some 650 people, mostly trainee pilots, trainee cabin crew, technician trainees and newly hired staff on probation.
“What I have to emphasise, though, is it’s not because we want to. Those employees have done nothing wrong. They are very good employees. It’s just that we cannot afford to keep them,” he said.
The airline was struggling long before the coronavirus outbreak, posting 2019 losses of almost $120 million.
Last month the Nairobi Securities Exchange suspended trading of Kenya Airways shares for three months, citing the government’s plan to restructure the carrier, after it submitted to parliament a draft law on nationalising the airline.
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