Biography Of Michael Joseph (Age , Wife , Net Worth) - Kenya Airways (KQ), a prominent African airline founded by South African-born Kenyan billionaire Michael Joseph, has banned ticket sales from London to Nairobi, citing travel disruption pressure from the United Kingdom’s main aviation hub, London’s Heathrow Airport.
According to KQ Managing Director Allan Kilavuka, the airline will not take new bookings until the ban is removed, but it will fly customers who have already made previous reservations.
“They have instructed us to close fresh sales from London, which means we should only fly the tickets that have already been sold,” he stated in answer to Business Daily questioning.
Michael Joseph
KQ’s decision comes almost five days after Heathrow airport officials asked that airlines cease selling summer travel tickets after imposing a maximum of 100,000 people per day exiting the airport in order to avoid lengthy lineups, cancellations, and baggage recovery delays.
To combat airport inconvenience even further, the United Kingdom has launched the “Aviation Passenger Charter,” which aims to help passengers understand their rights if they encounter problems at airports, as well as to prevent long lines and other travel chaos caused by staff shortages and industry disruptions.
While KQ followed the authorities’ request, aviation behemoths Etihad Airways and Emirates, Dubai’s flagship carrier, have refused to comply, calling Heathrow’s decision “unacceptable” and accused its management of “blatant contempt for consumers.”
The latest change has the potential to have a big influence on KQ’s third-quarter financial performance, given Kenya’s summer season, which runs from July to August, is normally high in terms of foreign visitor reservations.
This disruption will intensify the pressure on the board of directors and management to generate a profit by the conclusion of the fiscal year in 2022 after sustaining considerable losses in 2020 and 2021.
Under the leadership of Joseph, who has been at the helm of the airline since 2016, the aviation firm reported a net loss of Ksh15.8 billion ($133.6 million) in 2021.
This is much less than the group’s financial loss of Ksh36.2 billion ($306.1 million) in 2020, when it encountered considerable interruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on its operational environment, with travel restrictions limiting earnings power.
Last Monday, the South African-born Kenyan billionaire was awarded a third three-year term as KQ’s chairman, extending his position through March 2025. This will increase his overall time at the leadership of the corporation to more than nine years.
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