Sebastian Mikosz, chief executive officer at Kenya Airways has asked the Kenyan government to accelerate the process of nationalisation of Kenya Airways, according to media reports.
The lawmakers in Kenya voted for the nationalisation of Kenya Airways earlier in the month of July, which has been accumulating debt and running under losses.
Sebastian Mikosz highlighted that the airline is failing to compete with other state-owned carriers because the governments are heavily investing in them. He pointed out that countries like Tanzania and Rwanda are heavily investing in their national carriers, which is threatening Kenya Airways’ market share.
He told the media, “It’s so important to have the nationalisation of Kenya Airways done speedily, to have an answer about what the future of the airline is in terms of its structure in the next five years.”
Sebastian Mikosz did point out that the government has hired a nationalisation advisor and is looking to complete the process by the end of next year.
While the state owns a 48.9 percent stake in Kenya Airways, Air France-KLM owns 7.8 percent and around 38 percent is owned by individual investors.
According to reports which came out earlier this year, Kenya’s National Treasury is planning to close the buyout of Kenya Airways by the end of next year.
Kenya Airways is working on a model under which the carrier will become one of the four subsidiaries in a state-owned aviation holding company. Earlier, the carrier’s chairman Michael Joseph proposed the nationalisation and its inclusion in a state-owned aviation holding company to enhance its ability to borrow funds for expansion.
Kenya Airways was privatised in 1996, making it the first African airline to successfully do so.