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A planned strike by pilots at Kenya Airways would jeopardise the airline’s recovery from the pandemic and would be unjustified, the company’s board said on Wednesday. KALPA, a union that represents more than 400 pilots at the carrier, issued a notice that is set to trigger a strike at midnight on Wednesday over a dispute involving pensions, accrued back salaries and other complaints. “None of the grievances advanced by KALPA merits an industrial strike,” the board said in a statement, adding all pay deals with unions must reflect the company’s effort to return to profit. “It (a strike) will delay and disrupt the financial recovery,” the board added. In a separate statement, Kenya Airways put estimated losses if the strike goes ahead at 300m shillings ($2.5m) per day. KALPA, which has been ordered by a court not to proceed with the strike, declined to comment. Muriithi Nyaga, its general secretary, told Reuters the union would issue a statement when it was ready to. If the strike goes ahead, it will paralyse travel in one of Africa’s key aviation hubs, which serves business and leisure travellers. Kenya Airways ferried an average of 8,000 passengers every day in the first half of this year. The union is demanding the airline restarts contributions to its staff pension fund, stopped during the pandemic, and the payment of all back salaries that were accrued at the time. Like other airlines, Kenya Airways grounded its fleet and deferred pay for workers when the pandemic took hold.<br/>

Korean Air Lines will inspect the remaining 24 Airbus SE A330 aircraft in its fleet after one overshot a runway in the Philippines last month, the carrier’s president said Wednesday. Batches of A330s will be taken out of service in phases for a “full-scale, comprehensive safety inspection” in conjunction with external consultants, Woo Kee-hong said in a meeting with officials from South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. “Korean Air is aware of the gravity of the recent events involving our A330 aircraft,” he said, according to a transcript the airline shared with Bloomberg News. In addition to the 24 A330s being inspected, another six will be retired. The company didn’t provide a time frame. “We take recent events very seriously,” Woo told the officials. “Safety remains our top priority, and we will analyze and check all safety obstacles that may exist at Korean Air, from top to bottom, and make great efforts to improve them, if needed.” The airline is considering early retirement of older aircraft and is expanding safety-related investment and training, Woo said. “We are providing all necessary technical support to Korean Air,” an Airbus spokesman said. “With reference to the incident in Cebu, we cannot comment on the ongoing investigation, which is being undertaken by the relevant authorities.”<br/>