Kenya Airways to cease Gabon, Benin operations

September 23, 2019: Effective October 14, 2019, Kenya Airways will cease to fly to two African countries - Libreville, Gabon; and Cotonou, Benin. Both the routes are no longer profitable to the airline which is already burdened with huge losses.

Travelers to the two destinations, beyond this date, will be rerouted or re-booked through KQ partner airlines. "We have made the necessary arrangements to continue serving our customers who had made forward bookings through our existing cooperation with partner airlines to ensure no disruption to their travel," said Kenya Airways chief commercial officer, Ursula Silling.

The decision to suspend flights to two cities of Libreville and Cotonou is in line with the airline's strategy to align its network worldwide. 

Kenya Airways has recently dropped the proposal from Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to take over Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta airport operation. The proposal to merge the carrier and KAA, which operates Nairobi airport, was first floated in 2018. Since then, the plan has been a subject of heated political debate. In April, the government put the plan on the back burner and subsequently, in July, approved an alternative course of action based on the renationalisation of the carrier.

Kenya Airways is currently 48.9 percent owned by the government. A consortium of private banks holds another 38.1 percent of the shares after a debt-for-equity swap, while KLM Royal Dutch Airlines controls a 7.8 percent stake. The remaining is held by small shareholders. The renationalisation is expected to take 21 months and will result in the creation of a holding company owning Kenya Airways, KAA, and a new aviation college.