Kenya Airways seeking to run Jomo Kenyatta airport in bid for survival
Nairobi — Kenya Airways is close to winning approval to run the country’s main airport in Nairobi, looking to copy a model that has enabled rivals to overtake it, its chairperson said on Monday. Michael Joseph said the loss-making airline had proposed forming a special-purpose vehicle with state-run Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), allowing the airline to run Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for a minimum of 30 years. Kenya Airways, which is 48.9%-owned by the government and 7.8% by Air France/KLM, had $2bn worth of debt restructured by the government and shareholders in 2017 and it is planning new routes as it tries to recover from years of losses. The plan to run Jomo Kenyatta airport is vital for the national flag carrier’s survival as it has faced limited choices after 2017’s financial restructuring, Joseph said. "All our competitors are state-owned, state-controlled, state-subsidised and managed for the benefit of the airline. We are the odd one out," he said. The carrier als...
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