Kenya Airways has disclosed that its pre-tax loss for the six months ended 30 June rose to KSh8.56 billion ($82.8 million) from KSh3.9 billion in the same period of 2018.
The troubled Kenyan flag carrier’s operating loss surged to KSh2.9 billion from KSh1.03 billion.
Passenger numbers rose 6% as the airline grew its available seat-kilometres 17%, expanding capacity to New York and several locations in East Africa. While this boosted revenues by 12%, to KSh58.5 billion, it pushed costs up 15% to KSh61.5 billion.
SkyTeam member Kenya Airways has struggled to turn a profit while burdened by a $220 million debt pile. Earlier in the year, the Kenyan government voted in favour of nationalising the airline as part of a rescue operation, and is now in the process of buying out minority shareholders.
The airline is currently 48.9% owned by the government of Kenya, while 35.7% is in the hands of the KQ Lenders Company and 13.7% is held by KLM.
