Kenya Airways Targets Emergency Funds in Bid to Sustain Recovery Push

Kenya Airways (KQ) is pursuing emergency funding and exploring fresh investment avenues as the national carrier moves to stabilise operations and restore the profitability it briefly achieved in 2024.

Speaking at the Kenya Airways Aviation Media Lab in Mombasa on Wednesday, KQ Chairman Kiprono Kittony said the airline would first secure short-term emergency financing to address immediate operational needs, before tapping capital markets through its Public Limited Company listing.

“There is a plan, and you’re going to see a stronger and more robust airline,” Kittony said.

Acting Managing Director Captain George Kamal, also present in Mombasa, outlined a multi-pronged reform agenda centred on operational efficiency, digital transformation, and cargo expansion as the airline’s primary levers for returning to sustainable profitability.

Three of KQ’s nine Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners remain grounded due to a maintenance backlog linked to shortages of General Electric GEnx-1B70 engine components, constraints that have curtailed long-haul capacity and delayed planned route launches, including a proposed Nairobi–Beijing service.

Kenya Airways has long navigated financial headwinds. Privatised in 1996 and once billed as the Pride of Africa, the airline expanded aggressively across the continent and into Europe and Asia. However, mounting debt, a costly fleet expansion strategy, and intense competition from Gulf carriers eroded its finances through the 2010s.

The Kenyan government, which holds a majority stake alongside Air France-KLM and public shareholders, has repeatedly intervened to support the carrier,  including a controversial 2019 renationalisation proposal that was shelved after parliamentary opposition. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a further blow, grounding the fleet for months and accelerating revenue losses.

A 2021 creditor restructuring deal provided breathing room, enabling KQ to rebuild capacity and rationalise its network. The airline’s return to profit in 2024,  its first in over a decade, was widely seen as a watershed moment, driven by a 10 percent capacity expansion that carried 5.23 million passengers.

Leadership is now focused on sustaining that momentum. The airline has previously announced a $500 million capital raise target aimed at growing its fleet from 34 to 53 aircraft over five years.