By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
The Kenya Airways has announced suspension of its flights to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The decision comes following what Kenya Airways management said was the continued detention of its two staff by the military intelligence unit in the country’s capital.
KQ in a statement of Monday said with they are not able to support its flights for lack of sufficient personnel.”As a result, we reached a difficult decision to suspend flights to Kinshasa effective 30th April 2024 until we can effectively support these flights,” KQ Group Director and Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka said in part of the statement.
Kilavuka noted that DRC military’s continued detention of KQ employees had made it difficult for them to supervise their operations in Kinshasa which include customer service, ground handling, cargo activities and generally ensuring safe, secure and efficient operations.
“We also ask that our staff be treated humanely and respectfully during this unlawful detention,” KQ boss added.
The company last week revealed that the military had arrested two of its staff over a cargo at the Kinshasa airport.According to KQ, the cargo in question has not been handed over to them as it was still being processed.
Despite the company securing a court order for the release of the two, they still remain in military custody.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has said the Kenyan embassy in DRC was handling the matter.
Meanwhile, Kenya Airways has apologized to its customers for any inconveniences caused by the latest announcement.
“We assure you that your safety and wellbeing as well as that of our staff id our number one priority,” the company said.
It also asked affected customers to contact their customer care team for any inquiries.
“We continue cooperating with the investigating agencies and the relevant government entities in both DRC and Kenya to ensure this matters is resolved,” Kilavuka said.
He also asked the military to adhere to the court’s direction and release the two staff and allow due process to be followed.
