KUWAIT: The Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) is suffering from great negligence which has caused problems with its fleet, shortage of services, and many delays. "The fleet is very old; it's more than 20 years old, so technical problems are bound to occur. The delay which took place last Thursday and Friday isn't an exceptional case for KAC," Abu Yousef from the control section of the Civil Aviation at the Kuwait International Airport told the Kuwait Times yesterday.
Abu Yousef confirmed the delay of the KAC flight from Kuwait to Mumbai, Flight 301 which was supposed to fly on Thursday at 10 pm to more than 24 hours. The delay of Flight 301 also postponed the departure of KAC Flight 302 from Mumbai to Kuwait. This caused complications for the passengers in both airports. Flight 301 only departed on Friday at 10:45 pm. Technical problems were the reason behind this delay," he explained.
When compared to other GCC airlines companies, KAC has a very small and old fleet, despite being one of the first carriers in the region. "KAC has been operating for more than 50 years, yet its fleet consists of about 11 to 12 aircraft. While Qatar Airways for instance, was only established nine years ago, and their fleet includes 98 aircraft. I think this is shameful," added Abu Yousef.
"We are a rich country, and we have many resources and a huge public budget to spend on our national carrier which represents our country. There is a shortage of spare parts and engineers. Kuwait has changed, nobody cares today. We need a strong decision-maker to fix this problem, and to apply the law. Many committees were formed to discuss the problems and find solutions, but nobody is attending," he further said.
From his point of view, the solution doesn't lay in privatization, but if it helps, why not? "I don't think we should depend on the businessman to rescue KAC, as he shouldn't be completely responsible for the national carrier. The government should change the present miserable situation of this corporation. In Europe, those who don't respect the law are punished but here, that isn't the case," he pointed out.
Abu Yousef is worried of possible disasters as a result to the negligence. "I don't predict that a disaster will happen. I think we should not wait till a serious accident happens or people to die to wake up and see the miserable situation of KAC. I always tried to do something to improve the corporation but nobody supported me, so I gave up," he concluded.
© Kuwait Times 2012
