We must treat aviation as strategic economic infrastructure

Kenya Airways should not be treated merely as one operator among many at its home base, but as the anchor carrier around which JKIA’s connectivity strategy is organised.

Kenya has spent years debating the future of its national carrier through a narrow lens of whether Kenya Airways should simply make a profit.

While financial self-sufficiency remains a non-negotiable priority, our laser focus on the airline’s income statement has crowded out a far more vital debate. What does Kenya lose when its aviation capacity shrinks, routes disappear, and Nairobi’s status as East Africa’s premier aviation hub erodes?