A Sub-Saharan gap in the airfreight and business travel market has opened up through the withdrawal of Kenya Airways (KQ) from serving the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), linking Kinshasa with Addis Abeba, Entebbe and Nairobi.
Reports out of East Africa state that KQ’s exit from the DRC will result in a capacity shortfall of about one-third.
Apart from freight through Nairobi and other key nodes called at by KQ, the airline’s network represents one of the most important access services to Kinshasa and back.
Business travel from China, for example, will now have to rely on the national carriers of Ethiopia and Uganda for flights out of East Africa.
Of the 5 342 seats offered in total every week to Kinshasa and back from East Africa, KQ’s daily flight to the DRC’s capital accounts for 1 813 seats weekly, or 34 %.
Ethiopian Airlines has about 63% of the weekly market, and airfares are expected to increase because of KQ’s departure.
