Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has announced significant delays in its flight schedules caused by "the unexpected and prolonged grounding" of two of its B787-8s resulting from hold-ups in the delivery of engine components and parts.
The unavailability of flight crews for some regional flights is exacerbating the situation, the airline said in a statement. It anticipates that its network will normalise by May 21 once it receives and installs the necessary engines and components.
The Kenyan flag carrier said it was readjusting its network, including downgrading some flights to minimise disruptions and speeding up the recovery of the grounded aircraft. "We are doing everything in our power to resolve this situation as quickly and efficiently as possible," it said.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Kenya Airways operates six B787-8s, of which 5Y-KZE (msn 36042) has been parked since February 4, ADS-B data reveals. The other affected B787-8 is 5Y-KZB (msn 35511), which has been grounded since May 11, ADS-B data shows. Both aircraft are equipped with General Electric GEnx-1B70 engines.
ch-aviation has reached out to GE Aerospace for comment.
