Flagship airline reports surge in demand amid Middle East crisis

Kenya Airways has reported record load factors as passengers shift routes away from disrupted Gulf airspace

Kenya Airways plans to add more flights after demand surged to record levels during the Middle East crisis, with seat occupancy reaching as high as 99% on some routes, acting Chief Executive Officer George Kamal has said.

Demand has picked up sharply since February as more passengers switch to the company’s routes, Kamal said.

“We were like this... until February. Then it significantly increased. We reached up to 90% total, 90, 99[%],” the airline official was quoted by local media as saying on Monday.

“It is the first time at this time of the year,” Kamal stated. “We are already looking to add frequency and we will.”

The airline said the strongest growth is coming from long-haul markets including Europe, the US, and Asia, which are now boosting its network performance.

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“Those routes are contributing positively, very positively, to our network now,” Kamal added.

Air travel across the Middle East has been severely disrupted since the start of the conflict triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with multiple countries closing their airspace and airlines cancelling flights. Iran, Israel, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates all imposed full or partial airspace restrictions after the first strikes, forcing planes to reroute or turn back.

Airports across the region were also affected, with some suspending operations and others operating under heavy restrictions.

READ MORE: African Union issues warning over Gulf instability

According to The Guardian, citing industry officials and flight tracking services, many carriers have rerouted flights via Türkiye, the Caucasus, or over the Red Sea and East Africa, increasing travel times and costs.