Kenya Airways has entered service with its second Boeing 737-800 freighter and hopes the additional capacity will help the airline meet growing maritime aviation demand to West Africa.
The second aircraft arrived in Kenya at the end of March and began flying for the airline in early April
He noted that Kenya Airways already serves many destinations in West Africa and is therefore well-positioned to capitalize on maritime aviation demand.
"This is a major modal shift in cargo moving from sea to air freight, and one of the areas affected is the west coast of Africa. KQ has touched down on terminals in Freetown, Conakry, Monrovia and Accra."
"Ideally, these ships would go through the Suez Canal, around the continent and into that part of West Africa, but right now it's kind of blocked.
"Many exporters in the Far East transship their goods by sea to the Middle East, from where they are flown to continental Europe."
Kenya Airways is not the only air cargo company to note rising demand for sea freight in West Africa as container ships are attacked in the Red Sea.
“We continue to expect a strong year for African air cargo,” he said.
“There are many factors contributing to this, but the continued difficulty in moving ocean freight across the Red Sea is the main accelerating factor for air cargo in Africa.”
