Kenya Airways Rakes in Sh214 Million in a Month from Cargo Business Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Kenya Airways raked in Sh214 million from its cargo business in the month of April 2020.

This comes after the government banned all international passenger flights on March 22nd as part of the measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

In April alone, the national carrier made 53 cargo flights to various destinations around the world, according to the airline’s CEO, Allan Kilavuka.

Last month, KQ announced it was converting some of its grounded passenger flights into cargo freighters.

KQ said the move was aimed at keeping the airline in operation amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has completely crippled the air travel industry globally.

Kilavuka said the grounded KQ passenger planes would complement the carrier’s cargo freighters to ferry cargo across the world. Cargo flights remain operational to offer emergency services and supplies during the pandemic.

In mid-April, a KQ Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft exported 40 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables to London, the United Kingdom after it was converted into a cargo plane.

On 12th April 2020, another KQ Dreamliner passenger plane of registration KQ 2764 left Nairobi for Johannesburg, South Africa carrying medical goods and essential items.

KQ halted its passenger operations after the government announced a ban on all international passenger flights to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Other countries worldwide imposed similar restrictions to stop the spread of the disease that has so far infected over 3.3 million people globally and killed more than 230,000 others.