High-flying loss: Kenya Airways losses soar to Sh16.1billion
The loss increased from Sh12.15 billion recorded during the same period in 2025, underscoring the continued financial challenges facing the airline despite an improvement in revenue.
Kenya Airways (KQ), the perennial loss-making national carrier, has suffered another major financial setback after its half-year net loss widened by 32 per cent to Sh16.08 billion in the six months ended June 30, 2026.
The loss increased from Sh12.15 billion recorded during the same period in 2025, underscoring the continued financial challenges facing the airline despite an improvement in revenue.
KQ’s operating loss also widened sharply to Sh10.64 billion, up from Sh6.24 billion a year earlier, while total operating costs surged by 14 per cent to a record Sh97.7 billion.
The airline attributed the deteriorating performance largely to higher fuel costs and supply-chain disruptions, which continued to weigh on its operations.
Despite the mounting losses, the national carrier reported a nine per cent increase in revenue to Sh81 billion, achieved while operating with nine per cent less capacity.
“We grew revenue by nine per cent to Sh81 billion despite operating with nine per cent less capacity,” said George Kamal, KQ Acting Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Kamal maintained an optimistic outlook, pointing to stronger passenger demand across the airline’s network.
The carrier’s cabin factor — the proportion of available passenger capacity occupied — improved by four percentage points during the period, while stronger average coupon values also indicated resilient demand.
However, the revenue growth was not enough to offset the steep rise in operating expenses and other costs, leaving KQ deeper in the red.
