Kenya’s government is aiming to end the requirement for further state financial support for Kenya Airways by the end of the year under a turnaround plan being implemented. The loss-making carrier required state support after the pandemic wiped out international travel markets and to support a major restructuring effort. A report from the International Monetary Fund, which cleared fresh financial support to Kenya in December, flagged that in addition to taking on $827m of Kenya Airways’ debt, the Kenyan government would provide $473m in support to the carrier over the current and previous financial year to clear overdue payment obligations and cover the upfront costs of restructuring. In a draft 2023 budget policy announcement published on 18 January, Kenya’s national treasury outlined its intent to end the airline’s dependency on state support. ”Kenya Airways had demonstrated that Kenya could become a global aviation hub,” it says. ”To support the aviation industry, the government will develop a turnaround strategy for Kenya Airways. ”A critical plank of this strategy will be a financing plan that does not depend on operational support from the exchequer beyond December 2023.” Kenya Airways’ ongoing restructuring has included reducing its network, trimming back and renegotiating deals with aircraft lessors, as well as seeking labour savings. Progress on the latter has been harder to achieve and relations with pilots soured during strike action, which only ended in November following a labour court intervention.<br/>
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Korean Air said Friday it will resume services to four major destinations in Europe starting from March. After a 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the airline will restart the Prague and Zurich routes from March, followed by the resumption of the Istanbul and Madrid routes from April. Starting from late March, Prague and Zurich routes will be operated 3 times a week, taking turns with a day’s interval. Flights to Istanbul and Madrid are arranged to open on late April -- following the same flight schedule as Prague and Zurich. The company added that it is possible to take advantage of various linked schedules with routes to Barcelona, Vienna, and Budapest, which resumed operations last year. Korean Air plans to actively respond to the growing demand for overseas travel in the wake of the post-COVID era this year and continue its efforts to normalize passenger services. Serving the world for more than 50 years, Korean Air is one of the world's top 20 airlines, carrying more than 27m passengers in 2019, before the pandemic broke out.<br/>