Kenya Airways adds cargo bays at JKIA facility

Kenya Airways has added six cargo docking bays at its Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) warehouse in an attempt to boost its business which has experienced a dip in recent months.

The national carrier, whose international code is KQ, says the new bays will shorten the delivery journey for import goods, reduce congestion and optimise resource utilisation within its cargo facility.

KQ has over the past five years been delivering cargo through a single exit channel, resulting in inefficiencies and underutilisation of the warehouse which moves up to 150 tonnes in goods daily.

“Today’s launch consolidates our position as a premier imports facility at JKIA and more importantly demonstrates our resilience in finding ways to deliver service improvements and efficiencies to our cargo customers,” said Jan De Vegt, KQ chief operating officer.

“We have embraced new technology with these new modern bays and aim to achieve faster truck turnaround times.”

KQ Cargo transports goods in about 20 countries across three continents. Some of the services offered include shipping of live animals, letters and packages, pharmaceuticals, fresh farm produce, valuable products as well as human remains.

KQ’s cargo business has dipped recently following a decision by the cash-strapped company to offload some of its aircraft in a bid to boost its liquidity and ease operations.

In the six months to September, the airline subleased five wide body aircraft and sold two others. The move to let go of the large capacity Boeing 777-300s directly impacted the firm’s cargo earnings which dropped to Sh3.7 billion.