Kenya Airways has blamed its recent flight disruptions to the Ukraine war crisis which it says has significantly crippled the Russian supply chain crucial to global aviation. According to the Kenyan airline the company has experienced delays in its getting its aircraft that are undergoing scheduled maintenance, back into operations due to global challenges with the supply of some aircraft components

In a statement to inform its customers that it is experiencing some flight disruptions , the airline said it faced constraints on its aircraft availability since it did not have extra aircraft capacity to help alleviate the delays.

“The aviation supply chain is highly dependent on raw materials from many countries including Russia. For example, 100% titanium used on Embraer and 35% titanium used on Boeing are sourced from Russia. With a limited inventory, airlines have had to look worldwide to find the parts they need,” the airline said in a statement.

Kenya Airways Group MD & CEO Allan Kilavuka also blamed the airlines woes on a shortage from European and American manufacturers who are facing a backlog in production of aircraft components against orders. He added that a shortage of qualified workers has exacerbated the delay in supply
chains and compromised the availability of components for airlines despite manufacturers efforts to ramp up production.

He added that the airline is working with our partners, to find a solution that minimizes the disruptions and is currently finalizing a component support program that will help fast track the securing of components.

“We are also actively engaging our OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners to work on mitigation measures which should ensure continuity of our network and operations,” he concluded.

Kenya Airways has raised the possibility of changing flight schedules with a reduction in some frequencies to deal with the situation.