Kenya Airways cancels five flights ‘due to staff shortage’

Nairobi:  Kenya Airways Sunday cancelled five morning flights from Nairobi due to what they termed as shortage of crew.

KQ flights 600 to Mombasa, 432 to Kilimajaro, 350 to Juba, 706 to Lusaka/Harare and 740 to Maputo were cancelled after the crew failed to report to work.

Flight 782 to Livingston/Capetown was experiencing a delay.

“Some of our outsourced staff including cabin crew have stayed away from work from Friday and we are working with their employer to resolve any issues they may have,” said the national carrier in a statement.

“As per the safety regulations that the airline abides to, minimum number of cabin staff per aircraft type is required and on some of our flights we are unable reach these levels,” the statement read.

The airline said that the passengers on cancelled flights would be rebooked on later flights or alternative airlines.

“Despite our effort to solve the problem by combining several flights, we have made the difficult decision to cancel some as the safety of our guests is paramount,” said KQ.

The airline’s pilots have issued a strike notice that expires early Tuesday morning where they have demanded the resignation of chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze and company chairman Dennis Awori whom they accuse of running down the company.