Kenya Airways is contesting a government deal allowing Ethiopian Airlines to operate passenger planes grounded by the coronavirus for shipment of cargo from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ( JKIA) in Nairobi to Europe and Asia.
On April 6, the Ministry of Transport allowed Ethiopian Airlines to vary its licence for passenger planes and use six aircraft to ferry cargo from Nairobi and Mombasa to overseas at a time when carriers are charging a premium for the service.
Kenya Airways is worried that Ethiopian Airlines will take a huge chunk of the business of shipping flowers, fresh fruits, vegetables like green beans and peas as well as meat that have become increasingly scarce in Europe as the coronavirus pandemic hampers the global movement of produce.
“We have objected the move to have Ethiopian Airlines use their passenger flights for cargo business in Kenya because we were not consulted on the impact that this would have on our business,” said Mr Kilavuka in a phone interview with the Business Daily.
Most cargo airlines have pulled out of the Nairobi route following the outbreak of coronavirus across the world. The planes flying cargo from JKIA are charging more, encouraging the likes of Ethiopia Airlines to seek a larger piece of the market.
While governments from Kenya to South Africa are struggling to turn around loss-making State-owned airlines through restructuring or by bringing on board private partners, Ethiopian Airlines has bucked the trend.
