Kenya Airways' request to convert one of its large passenger dreamliners into a cargo plane has been approved by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority(KCAA).
The KCAA’s approval for Boeing 787 to be converted into a cargo carrier comes weeks after the US–based Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave Kenya Airways the green light to do the same.
This approval will enable KQ to increase the available carrying capacity at KQ by over 100 tonnes.
The airline said that the move would help it to use Boeing 787 for long haul cargo services between Kenya and other countries.
Currently, the airline relies on two short-haul aircraft for cargo transportation. This move will boost exportation, especially in the horticulture industry.
Earlier on, KQ had opened talks with leasers to have it allowed to remove seats in some of the Dreamliner aircraft and convert them into freighters.
Due to the low number of travellers during the Covid-19 lockdown, KQ converted some of its Boeing 787 aircraft into freighters but they could only accommodate 50 percent of goods since they did not remove all the seats.
The airline posted a loss of 132 million dollars in the last half-year due to the grounding of flights caused by Covid-19. The loss was bigger than the annual losses posted by the airline in the last three years.
KQ made a net loss of Ksh 12.99 billion last year with flight halting causing passenger revenue to decrease by 83 percent. This was caused by the cancellation of passenger flights.
The conversion of the Dreamliner into a cargo carrier will therefore be expected to help the airline increase its revenue.
