KQ Plane to Rescue Passengers Stranded in Athens

{{Kenya Airways has mounted an operation to rescue passengers who have been stranded in Athens since Saturday.}}

The national carrier’s Chief Operating Officer Mbuvi Ngunze said the airline is in the process of obtaining the necessary permits for the plane that will relieve flight KQ117.

“We are only waiting for civil aviation clearances enroute because that doesn’t depend on us, that depends on airspaces in Sudan, in Ethiopia and through to Egypt before we can send the flight,” Ngunze told Capital FM News.

Nzunge said 16 of the stranded passengers were already on their way to Nairobi onboard a cargo flight, including four who were unable to leave the airport to be temporarily housed at a hotel as they lacked the necessary documents.

“We actually eventually managed to get all but four through to a hotel on Saturday evening but we had diverted an aircraft last night to pick up the cargo that was on ground and we were able to pick up 16 from there so that shows you we were trying to be proactive to make sure we could mitigate for those people who were unable to be accommodated,” Ngunze said.

KQ’s COO said they were forced to send another plane and crew to Athens after the Greece Civil Aviation declined to clear flight KQ117 for take off despite Boeing and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority having already cleared the plane.

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