Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has suspended its ticket sales in Malawi again and has warned it may stop flying there to mitigate further losses after being unable to repatriate an undisclosed sum of its revenue from the country.
As a result of a “significant amount” of blocked funds, “Kenya Airways has found it challenging to meet its operational costs and maintain the commercial viability of its operations in Malawi,” the airline explained in a statement.
It said it had engaged with the Malawian authorities throughout 2022 to find a solution. The airline was now demanding that the Malawi government release its funds forthwith and implement “a proper mechanism to ensure that Kenya Airways funds do not accumulate”.
“Under the current difficult circumstances, and to mitigate against further losses moving forward, Kenya Airways has been left with no other option but to suspend its ticket sales in Malawi. Failure to collect the funds will lead to Kenya Airways suspending its operations in Malawi,” it warned.
The suspension affects only reservations made in Malawi. It comes after the Kenyan flag carrier in May 2022 already suspended its ticketing system for travel agents in Malawi primarily because of the shortage of foreign currency.
“Kenya Airways has been operating in Malawi since 1977 and remains committed to continuing and growing operations. We hope to find a win-win resolution with the Malawi government on the repatriation of blocked funds to enable us to resume normal ticket sales,” the airline stated.
Malawi has faced acute shortages of foreign currency for months as sales of its main foreign currency earner, tobacco, dropped in line with declining smoking worldwide. Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa) has also suspended its ticketing services in Malawi over the forex crisis.
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