KQ from Harare to Lusaka.

A friend of mine was travelling from Nairobi to Lusaka via Harare last night using Kenya Airways.

They traveled well from Nairobi to Harare, and were now embarking on the last leg to Lusaka.

As they were taking of from Harare, the plane developed a technical problem. The crew decided to cancel
their flight and the plane is now grounded.

He tells me they are now holed up in a hotel in Harare till today at 4pm when the rescue flight will be coming.

Kwa wale frequent flyers, how ‘normal’ are such incidents?

Rare occurance

See, son, an aircraft is not like the Githurai paradisos that would show a “check engine” indicator on the dashboard and the crew will decide to run the vehicle as usual til next time they are at the garage (if they ever get into one).
Any small hitch on the million dollar machine calls for attention and the crew always grounds the aircraft for it to be checked and fixed before embarking on the journey.
Your friend’s case is a rare but ‘normal’ occurrence.

In a passenger aircraft, everything must be working as designed before it is allowed to fly, let him relax in Harare and get to meet Zim kungurus

Note taken. I was worried about his safety.

Avoid kq flights on that route…only kq planes that I know are in good condition are the ones to johannesburg…no delays due to mech issues…I don’t know if Ethiopian flies to Lusaka but there is one to Harare then Bulawayo…i guess it also flies to Lusaka…those ones are in good condition too…better option

Its a known fact , KQ schedules old,uncomfy aircraft to ply their West African(lets just say African) routes and reserve the best aircraft for their premium routes. Read London and such.Your friend must be lucky they didnt scream my name. MAYDAY.

Not true, the Embraer E-Jets were bought new, they can carry 100-120 passengers. Its fast, agile, cheaper to maintain and comfortable. They have given KQ 7 years of good service.

I flew in their Embraer 190`s sometimes back in 2014.

Did that a year later and realized the small screens
za entertainment hazifanyi kazi. It reflects on their ability
to pay attention to the small details during routine maintenance.

He might be safer holed in a hotel than risk his life airborne on a flight with a mechanical hitch.

Roundi hii paradiso ziko na taa ya check engine ?

Niaje “know it all”?

KQ have had issues with aircraft maintenance since their technicians went on strike and the Court ruled that KQ cannot rehire staff to replace the striking ones. Since then, aircraft have been going to UAE or China for routine and major maintenance.

Also hapo pesa ya inconvenience atalipwa ni mzuri sana.

Not 100% true. Embraers can only carry a maximum of 96 passangers. 3 of them are not brand new

very normal,I actually expect such shenanigans,i’ve had ‘suspected smoke’ in the cargo holding,radar malfunction,landing gear blowout and a tail strike all led to grounding or diversion.With these in picture,i travel a day or two ahead,that way you don’t get shafted if you had a schedule to keep

Very true. Even European and Mujahedeen airlines reserve their best for 1st world countries. KLM and Emirates wanatupea paradiso from JKIA to Schipol and Dubai respectively. If connecting ndio unajipata kwa ndege kama mat ya ronga. This is especially noticeable when coming back to .ke. Hata kinywaji unaambiwa moja imekutosha if you ask for more. Wambo na Mwende are always moody na hawataki upus baada ya kukamuliwa na Capt Van Dijk

Nonsense as usual.

Counter check with aircraft registration numbers coming this route and their year of manufacture vs planes on Atlantic/pacific/ European routes

Enyewe true. Ata kale kandege Qatar services Nairobi - Doha route ni kazee but the one taking you to mahali iko pesa mingi is the best airliner

That flight had a bird strike on one of its engines. Qty 02 fan blades were damaged., blades have to be sourced from Nairobi, recovery team is on ground facilitating replacement, then afterwords a high power engine run to be done, and if you also not lucky, fan blade lubrication coz of vibrations. So tulia pale kwa hoteli ungojee updates…