Kenya's National Airline Kenya Airways (KQ) is experiencing significant disruptions to its flight schedules, resulting in unusually high levels of delays.
In a statement on Sunday, they said the disruptions are leading to abnormally high levels of delays. The announcement shared on X, said that the disruptions resulted from an unscheduled and extended grounding of two 787 Dreamliners due to the delayed delivery of engines and engine components.
"The main reason for these disruptions is the unscheduled and extended grounding of two of our 787 Dreamlines due to delayed engine and engine components delivery," the statement reads in part.
This is not the first time, Kenya Airways has blamed the shortage of spare parts, as the primary reason of its flight disruption. Last December, the carrier had announced two weeks disruption owing to challenges in the aircraft's spare parts global supply chain.
The latest version of Kenya Airways' announcement read that the flight disruption has also been impacted by the unavailability of their flight crew for some regional flights. To address these disruptions, they noted that they are taking some quick actions.
In response to the disruptions, KQ said it was implementing several immediate measures, including readjusting its flight network, proactively communicating with affected customers, and accelerating the recovery process for the grounded aircraft.
The statement read , "To address these disruptions, we are taking the following quick actions"
The statement said it was also modifying schedules, including downgrading some flights to minimise disruptions.
"We sincerely apologise to customers who have been inconvenienced by these delays. We reiterate that your safety and well-being, as well as that of our crew, are our utmost priorities. We are doing everything in our power to resolve this situation as quickly and efficiently as possible."
KQ anticipated that the network would normalise by Tuesday, May 21, 2024, upon the receipt and installation of all necessary engines and their components.
"We anticipate that our network will normalise by Tuesday, May 21, once we receive and install the necessary engines and components. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this time," Kenya Airways said.
Kenya Airways maintains a fleet of eight Boeing 787-8 wide body aircraft, those are powered by General Electric GEnx -1B engines. With an Entry into service in year 2012, the GEnx is a two-shaft turbofan engine in the thrust category 66,500-76,100 lbf .
The GEnx engine from GE is based on the architecture of the GE90, which powers the Boeing B777 planes. While the GEnx-1B version was designed for medium-capacity widebody aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the GEnx-2B version was developed for the Boeing 747-8, the uprated variant of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets.
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