Kenya Airways' acting CEO Habil Waswani.
Kenya Airways’ new acting CEO Habil Waswani took up his position Sept. 15 as the struggling national carrier undergoes another leadership change while attempting to stabilize its finances and improve operational performance.
Waswani succeeds acting CEO George Kamal, who is leaving after eight months in the role for personal family reasons, Kamal will remain with the airline through a 30-day transition period, with his formal departure set for Sept. 30.
Kamal recently spoke at Aviation Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, reflecting on progress already made under Project Kifaro, Kenya Airways’ five-year transformation plan. He urged the airline’s new leadership to build on the work underway.
“The past 2.5 years focused heavily on stabilizing operations and balancing the books,” Kamal said. “Financial restructuring is underway, with transactional advisors actively being onboarded.”
Kamal urged the incoming leadership to “maintain momentum rather than hit the reset button,” saying operational efficiency, sustained execution and pan-African cooperation will be important to the carrier’s future.
Those priorities are set to continue under Waswani, who also attended the Aviation Africa event. The incoming acting CEO said operational efficiency, customer experience and strengthening the airline’s balance sheet are immediate areas of focus. Kenya Airways expects to provide “greater clarity on its short-, medium- and long-term plans over the next two months,” Waswani said.
A corporate lawyer with more than 24 years of experience, Waswani joined Kenya Airways in 2021. He previously served as corporate secretary and director of legal services and regulatory compliance. He said working closely with the airline’s board and management has given him “insight into its challenges and the measures required to address them.”
The Kenya Airways board appointed Waswani on an interim basis while it searches for a permanent CEO. Asked if he will apply for the full-time position, Waswani declined to comment.
“I take it one step at a time. Let the process run. Let’s make sure the ship is steady,” he said. “Whoever comes, whether it’s me or somebody else, we will run with it.”
Waswani said the airline’s existing strategy will remain in place despite the leadership transition, with on-time performance, reliability and customer experience among key measures. A major near-term priority will be returning underutilized capacity to service. Waswani said aircraft and other capacity sitting idle are generating significant costs without contributing to operations.
“Whatever capacity is on ground, we need to bring it up,” he said. “The capacity that’s lying there, not being utilized, attracting heavy costs, needs to come back into service.”
The leadership transition comes as Kenya Airways faces mounting financial pressure. The airline reported a pre-tax loss of 15 billion Kenyan shillings ($116 million) for the first half of 2026, compared with a 12 billion shilling loss during the same period last year.
The carrier is seeking to strengthen its balance sheet as it works toward securing a strategic investor. Waswani said potential options could include an airline partner or a direct equity investor.
Waswani declined to provide further details, citing Kenya Airways’ obligations as a listed company, but said announcements providing more detail on the carrier’s turnaround direction are expected within the next one to two months. “Growth is on the horizon for us,” he said. “From [the middle of] next year, the growth path will begin to be clear.”
According to the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Fleet Database, the airline’s fleet currently consists of two Boeing 737-300Fs; nine 737-800s (one inactive); two 737-800Fs; one 777-300ER; nine 787-8s (two inactive); and 12 Embraer 190s (five inactive). Kenya Airways has no aircraft currently on order.
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