PH
Kenya Airways will sell its planes to ease a debt crisis that has riddled the organization, the government has said.
Acting Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that the airline would sell four of its older planes to try recover some money in the aftermath of the crisis.
Macharia made the announcement after meeting the Transport, Public Works and Housing Committee in Parliament Tuesday.
” It is prudent that internal measures be taken to ease the debt and selling the planes has been mooted as an easy possibility,” Macharia said.
The airline posted a KES 25.7 billion loss for the year 2014.
The airline has blamed the huge loss on competition from Middle East airlines and high operating costs.
Macharia said that an ongoing audit will give the public more insight into the problems at the airline and chart a way forward.
” We have an ongoing audit which has identified things that can be done to save the airline from further losses and those will be communicated in detail soon,” he added.
KQ blamed travel advisories that led to a slump in the tourism industry, as well as runway closures for renovation as reasons for its failure.
The Ebola crisis in West Africa, one of its most profitable routes was also a factor, as the airline was forced not to fly in the region due to safety fears.
