Covid-19 Impact: Kenya Airways Posts KSh36.57 bn 2020 Full-Year Loss 

Kenya Airways (KQ) lost KSh36.57 billion ($333.2 million) in 2020 from KSh 13 billion in 2019.

In March, it had projected a staggering loss of KSh40 billion in revenues.

The carrier, which temporarily suspended operations last at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, said global flight and travel restrictions meant revenue dropped 59% to KSh52 billion as passenger traffic fell 1.8 million compared to 5.2 million in 2019.

“It has been a tough year where we have faced unprecedented challenges. The situation continues to be difficult even as we gradually resume our operations, mainly due to the depressed demand for air travel, with recovery to 2019 levels expected to take between 3 to 4 years,” the airline’s chief executive Allan Kilavuka said on Tuesday.

“The Covid-19 global outbreak in 2020 was beyond anyone’s prediction and its impact on the industry is expected to continue affecting air travel demand for the next two to three years,” said KQ chairman Michael Joseph.

“Approximately 70 per cent of the total passengers carried in 2020 were flown during the first three months of the year, demonstrating the drop in demand as the global crisis deepened during the year,” he added.