Kenya Airways has suspended all of its international flights effective March 25.
In a statement on Sunday, East Africa’s giant airline said all international flights will be put to a stop except for cargo flights which will remain operational to offer emergency services.
“Today (Sunday) the Government of Kenya has issued a directive that requires all incoming and outgoing international passenger traffic to and from Kenya to cease from midnight on March 25, 2020. To comply with this directive, we have therefore temporarily suspended all international services effective midnight 25th March 2020, until further notice,” said KQ Managing Director and CEO Allan Kilavuka.
However, Kilavuka said that domestic flights to Mombasa and Kisumu will remain operational.
The airline has been forced to reduce its network by over 70% which made it difficult to continue offering international passenger services.
Customers affected by the suspension of flights have been advised that they will be able to change their bookings for later travel or exchange their booking for vouchers for future travel within 12 months.
On Saturday, the airline’s management team announced that they will take a 75 percent pay cut as the airline announced unpaid leave for some of its staff beginning April 1 due to coronavirus outbreak.
The management said other staff members would see a downward revision of their monthly salaries by at least 50 percent.
This was in reaction to the coronavirus that has forced the airline to suspend its flights in a bid to contain the situation.
“We are facing challenging times and I would like to reiterate that we are in this together. I assure you that you are at the centre of every decision affecting our airline,” CEO Allan Kilavuka said.
Kenya has since reported eight confirmed cases of coronavirus.
