The Kenya Airways, commonly known by acronym KQ, is apparently considering operating commercial drones as it seeks on more ways to generate revenue, especially after the current pandemic dried most of its revenue streams coming from passengers. According to the carrier’s chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka, KQ is looking for new ways to stay afloat and unmanned Aerial vehicles seems like a potential option worth considering.
The carrier is considering commercial drones as it embarks on limiting reliance on passenger travel which has been adversely affected due to the current pandemic. The Chief Executive officer acknowledged that passenger travel is currently contributing more than 85 percent of its revenue with cargo coming in second at 10 percent.
Kilavuka said the company was exploring ways on how they could commercialize drone operations in the country by engaging various partners in the segment. He further said the carrier had necessary personnel with skills to start the project but pointed out lack of enough capital could be playing a role on current status.
Notably, this announcement comes at a time when the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has unveiled various raft measures pertaining to legalization of drone operations in the country. Kenya’s National Assembly has already passed a bill regarding the same after rejecting an earlier one.
Parties interested in operating drones in the country have already started filing applications with KCAA, according to the director general Gilbert Kibe. There are various categories that applicants can consider including recreation, filming, media and photography among others.