KENYA AIRWAYS OPENS NEW CARGO CENTRE, ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR OWN FREIGHTER
The Kenya Airways Group CEO Dr. Titus Naikuni announced the airline’s plans to acquire their own dedicated cargo aircraft by next year, when he formally opened the Africa Air Cargo Centre at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport earlier.
At the same time he announced their intention to go ‘double daily’ with B777 equipment to London, just as soon as the issue of slots is resolved, making the UK one of KQ’s main destinations. From early April KQ will also restore B777 service on the route to Amsterdam, which due to demand has been operated by the smaller B767 until now.
The introduction of a freighter, although the airline remains shtumm on the type of aircraft they intend to source, will substantially boost KQ’s capacity to uplift freight to and from Africa, although the use of the B777 on the European routes too provides under floor cargo capacity which is ordinarily taken up by importers and exporters. Said Dr. Naikuni further: ‘As Kenya Airways we have invested in cold room facilities to accommodate the growing horticultural export business. Our new Fast Flexible Fresh (FFF) facility is a 2500 meter square warehouse with the capacity to store between 90-100 pallets’.
According to both IATA and AFRAA air cargo shipments will grow ahead of the global trend in Africa, partly because of the ease of cargos reaching their final destination, or the nearest airport, while transportation by road and rail remains difficult at best across much of the continent.
