The airline has been paying interest only on its loans. “So far lenders have been understanding,” Kilavuka says in Nairobi, adding that he expects they will continue to give support.
The government owns 48.9% of the airline, with a consortium of lenders holding 38% and Air France-KLM 7.8%. The bill to nationalise the airline has passed parliament on its first and second readings, but still needs to be read a third time. Kilavuka says that the bill has not been given priority, and that he doesn’t know when the third reading will take place. “Nationalisation is not a panacea, or an end in itself,” he says. “It’s only part of the reform process.”
The proposed nationalisation would bring together Kenya Airways and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) under a single holding company, the Kenya Aviation Corporation. Kenya Airways and KAA have a “symbiotic” relationship with the airline providing
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