Kenya Airways aircraft have been grounded not because of weak market demand but due to failures in planning and financing long-term aircraft maintenance, according to former Kenya Airways manager Dan Okwiri.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation, Okwiri said the national carrier failed to prepare for mandatory heavy aircraft maintenance, especially the costly D-checks that are required after several years of aircraft use. As a result, the airline lacks the cash needed to service multiple aircraft, forcing them to remain grounded for long periods.
Okwiri explained that heavy maintenance is not optional in aviation and must be planned years in advance. The most expensive inspection, he said, is the D-check, which is carried out after an aircraft has been in service for between eight and 10 years or after reaching at least 24,000 flight hours.
“A D-check is where you strip the whole aircraft down completely and replace parts, even engine parts, even the engine itself,” he said.
Using the Boeing Dreamliner as an example, Okwiri said the cost of such maintenance is extremely high. “For a Boeing Dreamliner, a D-check will cost around Sh3 billion, sometimes Sh3 to 4 billion, depending on what has been replaced.”
He noted that airlines are expected to prepare for these costs long before the checks are due by placing real cash into a maintenance escrow account managed by a third party.
“What does airline accounting demand? That you put money in a maintenance escrow account,” he explained.
According to Okwiri, Kenya Airways did not follow this standard practice and instead relied on accounting provisions, which do not ensure that cash is available when needed.
“Putting a provision of Sh3 billion doesn’t mean the money is in cash. That amount is peanuts because it is the cost of just one plane, and KQ has several of them,” he said.
He added that the situation was made worse by the fact that many of Kenya Airways’ Dreamliners were delivered around the same time. This means their D-checks are now due almost at the same period, placing heavy pressure on the airline’s finances.
“Most airlines put money aside for these checks. That’s industry standard. That is what we did when we were operating,” he said.
Drawing from his 25 years working at the airline, Okwiri said extended aircraft groundings were rare in the past, even during more difficult financial times.
“Not a single one took more than one and a half months, even for a Dreamliner,” he said. “But we never had aircraft grounded. Conditions were much tougher then than they are now.”
Okwiri estimates that Kenya Airways now needs about Sh20 billion to complete heavy maintenance and return the grounded aircraft to service. He questioned whether recent profit announcements by the airline reflected true financial health, especially in relation to future maintenance needs.
“The proof the money isn’t there,” he said, raising doubts about whether funds were set aside for long-term obligations. “You declare profits, but were you allocating money for checks due after 10 years? No.”
He concluded that the grounding of aircraft points to a deeper problem within the airline, saying the issue is not just financial but also operational.
“People do not understand how to get an airline back on its feet. There are certain buttons you touch in an airline, and those buttons have not been touched.”
