The national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) plans to take over operations of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years has been declined.
The plan hit a snag after the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) declared that KQ lacks both the financial and technical capacity to transform the fortunes of the facility if granted authority to take over the airport for the said period.
Officials from KAA made the revelations when they appeared before National Assembly’s Transport, Public Works and Housing committee led by David Pkosing on Tuesday.
The proposal was already attracting mixed reactions from various quarters.
The management of KAA said that managing an airport and an airline are two different things.
It also argued that KQ has proven beyond doubt that it will not change the current situation at the airport if it is granted the opportunity to take over the management as it has been seeking.
KAA Chief Executive Officer Johnny Anderson noted that the KQ is not in a good position to ensure the airport retains its world class status or even make it better as it has been claiming.
Alex Gitari, KAA's General Manager for Finance said that the process of recovering the debt owed by JKIA is likely to hit a dead end if they decide to handover operations to KQ.
“We have been very forceful in the recovery of the debt but the reality is that they have been unable to pay,” said Gitari.