This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
On July 23, 2019, the National Assembly unanimously voted to approve the recommendation by the Transport committee for the formation of an umbrella Aviation Holding Company to run Kenya's aviation sector.
The committee's report proposed the establishment of the holding company with four subsidiaries: the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), Kenya Airways (KQ), the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), and a centralised Aviation Services College.
Transport committee chair David Pkosing stated, 'The government has no option other than to move quickly and implement the recommendations as approved by the entire House without amendments.'
The government will now draw up an implementation plan with clear time lines, said Esther Koimett, the principal secretary at the ministry of transport.
The Treasury, with a 48.9 percent stake, remains Kenya Airways' biggest shareholder, followed by strategic partner KLM with 7.8 percent and banks with 38.1 percent.
The nationalisation of Kenya Airways could see the Treasury pay off about 80,000 shareholders who bought the airline's stock at the NSE.
