Covid-19: Kenya Airways and its low-cost subsidiary Jambojet suspend all domestic flights
The increase in cases of Covid-19 contamination worries the Kenyan authorities. The number of infections in the country has increased tenfold since the beginning of the year, with the capital and its surroundings having been identified as the main focus.
To counter the spread, partial containment has been imposed.
From 12 noon, this Monday, March 29, Kenya Airways (KQ) will suspend its flights from Nairobi, and to Mombasa and Kisumu, until further notice.
At the same time, its low-cost subsidiary Jambojet will also suspend all its domestic services from the capital to the cities of Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Malindi and Diani. The move follows additional measures taken by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 26 to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country. It was decided to suspend, until further notice, land, sea and air links to or from the counties of Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu and Nakuru - the main foci of the pandemic.
The country is experiencing a resurgence of cases of Covid-19 contamination. The infection rate increased tenfold between January and March, said the President of the Republic. For the day of March 26 alone, the country recorded 2008 positive patients for a cumulative total of 128,178 positive cases including 91,513 cured and 2,098 deaths. It is obvious that this new slowdown in the operations of Kenya Airways - which still continues its international flights - will further erode its cash flow. On March 23, 2020, the company reported an annual loss of 36.2 billion Kenyan shillings ($ 329.6 million) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. This eighth consecutive annual loss is almost triple that of registered in 2019.
