This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
Kenya Airways has abandoned its ambitious plan to take over the operations of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), a move that was met with skepticism by lawmakers.
On October 2018, the airline submitted a Privately Initiated Investment Proposal (PIIP) to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), the Public-Private Partnership Committee (PPP), and the National Treasury. However, the proposal was rejected by Members of Parliament in February 2019.
According to National Assembly's Public Investments Committee chairman Abdullswamad Nassir, the deal seemed to favor Kenya Airways, which is a loss-making institution, over KAA, which made a profit of Ksh3.8 billion in the same period.
Instead of taking over JKIA, MPs recommended the establishment of an Aviation Holding Company to consolidate the country's aviation assets, including the nationalization of Kenya Airways.
Kenya Airways' decision to drop the JKIA takeover bid was announced on Monday by the airline's CEO Sebastian Mikosz.
“KQ's Board and Management believe that the PIIP has catalyzed important discourse about the future of Kenya's civil aviation, which is now being led by the Government of Kenya. Kenya Airways looks forward to continued collaboration with all involved stakeholders of the process,” said Mikosz in a statement.
