Aviation History
Kuwait Airways began as the privately founded Kuwait National Airways in 1953-54 before being nationalized in 1962 as Kuwait Airways Corporation, making it one of the Gulf's oldest carriers. Its fleet was seized or destroyed during Iraq's 1990 invasion and occupation of Kuwait, forcing a near-total rebuild after liberation in 1991. Since the mid-2000s liberalization of Kuwaiti aviation, low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways (founded 2004) has provided the first sustained domestic competition, operating alongside Kuwait Airways out of the country's sole commercial gateway, Kuwait International Airport.
A group of Kuwaiti investors founded Kuwait National Airways, the country's first airline.
The airline was nationalized and reorganized as Kuwait Airways Corporation, becoming the state flag carrier.
Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait resulted in Kuwait Airways' fleet being seized, flown to Iraq, or destroyed, effectively wiping out the airline's assets.
Following Kuwait's liberation, Kuwait Airways rebuilt its fleet and network almost from scratch, gradually restoring international service.
Jazeera Airways launched as Kuwait's first privately owned, low-cost carrier, ending Kuwait Airways' decades-long domestic monopoly.
A second private Kuwaiti carrier, Wataniya Airways, launched in 2005 as further evidence of aviation-sector liberalization, though it later ceased operations in 2011.
Kuwait Airways · Jazeera Airways · Wataniya Airways (defunct)
Wikipedia, Kuwait Airways corporate history, ICAO