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NAIROBI, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways said on Monday that it plans to expand cargo capacity in order to diversify revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allan Kilavuka, CEO of Kenya Airways, told journalists in Nairobi that the airline will enhance its air freight capacity through repurposing some of its passenger planes and through purchasing new cargo aircraft.
"The cargo business accounts for approximately 7 percent of revenues and the aim is to expand it to 20 percent in the next five years," Kilavuka said when Kenya Airways commissioned its first re-purposed passenger Boeing 787 dreamliner to a cargo aircraft.
The national carrier said that it currently handles approximately ten percent of all air freight business in Kenya.
"We would like to be the dominant player in the air cargo business with at least 50 percent of the trade in the future," Kilavuka said.
The Kenyan carrier observed that it is facing depressed demand on the passenger side due to international travel restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Kilavuka added that there is a growing demand for air cargo in Kenya and across the continent hence the need to expand its presence in the air freighter business.
He revealed that Kenya exports mostly horticulture products by air while it imports machinery and pharmaceutical products from the rest of the world.
Kilavuka noted that it already operates two narrow-body air freighters and it plans to purchase three long-haul aircrafts in the next few years to be deployed in the cargo space. Enditem