Kenya Airways
Kenya · KENYA · Active
Airline Identity
History
Kenya Airways was established on 22 January 1977 following the breakup of East African Airways, and began flying in February 1977 with leased Boeing 707s on the Nairobi-Frankfurt-London route. It was privatized in 1996, becoming the first African flag carrier to do so, and became a full SkyTeam member in June 2010. Rapid fleet expansion in the mid-2010s left the airline financially overstretched, leading to major debt restructuring in 2017-2018 after several years of heavy losses.
Current Operations
Kenya Airways operates a fleet of Boeing 737, 777 and 787 aircraft alongside Embraer E190 regional jets from its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, serving around 44 destinations across Africa, Europe and Asia. It is a full SkyTeam member and maintains a codeshare relationship with KLM, though KLM's equity stake has been diluted to a minority position amid restructuring. Under its 'Project Kifaru' turnaround plan the airline returned to profitability in 2025 after more than a decade of losses, with the Government of Kenya and a consortium of lending banks (KQ Lenders Company 2017) now its largest shareholders.
Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.