Cotu has said it fully supports the position taken by Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) that for Kenya Airways to remain truly the Pride of Africa and top employer, both its top management and Board of Directors must pave way for a complete overhaul of the Airline.

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Cotu faulted Kenya Airways' move to sack 600 of their staff, representing 15 per cent of its total workforce.

The Union said it is retrogressive that the pilots attached to the Kenya Airways have become easy targets towards the alleged cost cutting measures at the company.

“A similar exercise was conducted by the same management team in 2012 and it did not change the company’s trajectory.Kenya Airways was the best Airline in the entire Eastern and Southern African region in a few years ago, South African and Ethiopian Airlines were at par and even operated below our national carrier Kenya Airways..."

"... and whereas these Airlines continue to grow, Kenya Airways’ fortunes have continued to dwindle and diminish globally and so on the continents with its image equally going down as more and more planes some recently acquired now parked at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, JKIA with nobody bothered to allocate them routes nor seek alternatives and creative ways as far as new routes are concerned despite a wanting air transport in the region and beyond,” Secretary General Francis Atwoli said on Wednesday.

“Cotu (K) fully supports the move by the rest of the pilots at the Airline to participate in a strike on this decision as it has now escalated beyond its initial scope and the top management need to vacate the offices and let other qualified Kenyans take up the jobs to curb this situation before it degenerates to collapse our Airline, Cotu (K) remains deeply concerned particularly for a sector so sensitive to the country’s economy,” he said.

Atwoli appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene personally and not allow the national carrier to go down the drain due to mismanagement.

He asked the President do a complete total overhaul for the Airline's management to regain its lost glory.