The tragedy that is Kenya Airways

The few employees who were on a nine-month long KQ internship were convinced into signing CDL contracts at a lower cost than their colleagues Photo: Courtesy

It is common knowledge that not all airline crew in red and maroon uniforms work for Kenya Airways (KQ). Almost 75 per cent of the Kenyans commonly seen in KQ official colours are actually employees of Career Directions Limited (CDL), an outsourced labour management and recruitment agency founded in early 2003 by its current Managing Director Lucy Mmari.

On September 6, 2012, KQ announced the end to their staff rationalisation programme that saw the airline send home close 600 employees. At that time 453 employees were sacked with 125 reportedly opting for early retirement.