KQ sounds profit warning as fuel bill grows 72pc on Iran war

Kenya Airways (KQ) said yesterday that the surge in fuel costs following the war in the Middle East has compounded the challenges the carrier has been grappling with and is now expected to hit its earnings this year.

The airline said the crisis in the Gulf has had the effect of increasing its fuel costs by 72 per cent over the first half of this year.

Fuel, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the carrier’s operating costs, has now increased to upwards of 50 per cent, according to KQ’s  acting chief executive George Kamal.

The blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in a jump in global jet fuel prices, which have more than doubled, increasing from roughly $96 per barrel to nearly $200 per barrel.

The higher fuel costs are in addition to the constrained capacity that the airline has been grappling with due to the grounding of a number of its aircraft due to the unavailability of spare parts and engines globally.

“We saw a 72 per cent increase in fuel prices,” said Kamal at a press briefing in Nairobi.

“In Africa, fuel represents about 35 per cent to 40 per cent of operating costs. Today, we are looking at 50 per cent or more of the operating cost... the fuel price impact was significant.”

He added that the elevated fuel costs were in addition to capacity constraints that KQ has been experiencing following the grounding of some of its large aircraft due to a shortage of engines and spare parts in the global market.

This has had a major impact on the carrier, which had to review frequencies on many routes, including lucrative long-haul flights. It, in turn, resulted in reduced revenues and undermined the Sh5.4 billion profit after tax that the carrier made in 2024 after more than a decade of loss-making.

In the year to December 2025, the carrier reported a net loss of Sh17 billion. KQ is expected to publish its half-year earnings for the first half of this year in the coming weeks.

“Three of our 787 Dreamliners were grounded because of the global shortage of engines and spare parts. These aircraft represent a major amount of capacity for the airline. Each aircraft has 234 seats,” he said, explaining that the carrier had to reduce frequencies to key destinations. He added that KQ expects to start receiving some engines in September this year and have the entire fleet back in operation by early 2027.

“By the end of this year, at the latest by January 2027, we will have our fleet back up. And once we have the fleet up, we will be strong enough to compete ... there is demand in every route where we are flying. We are able to attract people, and they are willing to fly KQ.”