Kuwait Airways Grounds 5 Aircraft, Lawyer Wants Carrier Shut Down
Kuwait Airways Boeing 777
Kuwait Airways has grounded 5 of its aircraft due to a string of incidents prompting a Kuwaiti attorney to file a lawsuit pushing for the carriers’ shutdown.
‘Hawra Al Habeeb called on the court to assign an expert team to examine the 17-strong fleet of the flag carrier to establish if the aircraft are fit to fly after a string of incidents, the most recent of which was last week.
“The malfunctions at Kuwait Airways planes pose a serious danger to passengers’ lives while the government has failed to take any measure,” Habeeb said in a statement after filing the suit.’
The latest incident saw a KA Airbus A300 develop engine problems and had to make an emergency landing in Medina. The flight had 186 passengers on board.
The state-owned airline has 15 Airbus and 2 Boeing aircraft in its fleet that’s about 20 years old, and several of the planes have had technical problems over the past few years.
Unconfirmed reports say the fleet has been under-maintained.
Category: Airnation
Weird, Id figure that Kuwait would have billions to spend on its nations requirements, including updating and maintaining the flag carrier safe. Where is all that oil money going? They are flying old airplanes.
I was thinking the same thing Oscar. If the airline is run by the government (and an ‘oil’ government at that!) why can’t they buy new planes or maintain what they have??
Agreed, there are many countries that are not as rich as Kuwait that are buying new Boeing and Airbus aircrafts.
Sorry to say, but in a country like that, there aren’t too many regs and with a governmment run airline, they just don’t care.
Actually the fleet is maintained well within European EASA Part M and Part 145 standards. Yes the aircraft are old with antiquated IFE systems, but the aircraft are perfectly safe and very well maintained.
Sadly I can’t say the same for senior management, specifically the Director General and all other non-operational directors. Non-operational management is one huge exercise in incompetence taken to absurd levels!!
Then why are the planes breaking apparently?