Why Kenya Airways is abbreviated as KQ and not KA

You may be wondering why Kenya Airways is abbreviated as KQ and not KA. What does KQ stand for? What does the Q stand for?

Let us take a short trip down the history lane of the airline. Kenya Airways was initially East African Airways. Founded in 1946, the regional airline served Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and had its headquarters in Nairobi. The relations between the countries, however, did not last long and led to the collapse of East African Community which subsequently ended East African Airways.