Kenya Airways facing persistent flight disruptions over spare parts shortage
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya Airways said on Tuesday that persistent shortage of crucial aircraft spare parts could lead to travel disruption within its network and revised flights on some routes.
"We wish to inform our customers that we are experiencing some flight disruptions," the Kenya Airways (KQ) Managing Director Allan Kilavuka said in a statement.
The disruptions are a result of delays in getting back aircraft, which are undergoing scheduled maintenance, into operations due to global challenges with the supply of some aircraft components, Kilavuka said.
The spare parts shortage has constrained the availability of aircraft and the airline said it does not have extra aircraft capacity to help alleviate the delays.
"These challenges are global and affect not only Kenya Airways but all airlines globally," the airline said.
The challenges have been caused by the Russia-Ukraine war which has significantly crippled the Russian supply chain crucial to global aviation.
The aviation supply chain is highly dependent on raw materials from many countries including Russia.
For example, 100% titanium used on Embraer and 35% titanium used on Boeing are sourced from Russia.
"With a limited inventory, airlines have had to look worldwide to find the parts they need," Kilavuka explained.
Additionally, in Europe and North America, where most airlines get their components, manufacturers are looking to ramp up production of aircraft components to overcome delivery delays.
However, that is proving to be difficult because of a shortage of qualified workers. This has exacerbated the delay in supply chains and compromised the availability of components for airlines.
From the onset we would like to assure our customers that we are doing everything possible within our control to reduce the impact of these supply chain delays on our operations.
"We are also proactively anticipating these delays and communicating them as soon as possible," Kilavuka said.
The airline said it would work with partners to find a solution that minimises the disruptions and the inconvenience to travellers.
The airline also announced it was currently finalising a component support programme that would help fast track the securing of components.
"We are also actively engaging our original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners to work on mitigation measures which should ensure continuity of our network and operations," said Kilavuka.
Should the supply chain challenges persist, the airline plans to introduce changes in its flight schedules with reductions in some frequencies.
-0- PANA AO/MA 10Jan2023
