Kenya Airways CEO Mbuvi Ngunze last week said the airline will sell five older planes and some of its land to offload its huge loans. Similarly, Kenya Airways is currently negotiating a bridging loan to help it through a cash crunch caused by a drop in passenger numbers.

Kenya Airways, which is part-owned by AirFrance-KLM, made a Sh12.5 billion loss in the six months to September last year after a spate of terror attacks in Kenya made it tough to fill its fleet of new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

At the end of the financial year to March 2014, the carrier’s net debt was Sh77.8 billion. Mr Ngunze said the outlook for the peak holiday season this July and August was steady for now, but could be hurt by the Garissa University Attack that killed 148 people. Some hotels have already reported cancellations.