Jambojet delays scuttle holidaymakers plans

Hundreds of Jambojet passengers have experienced massive delays and flight cancellations this week, as the airline struggles to meet holiday surge in bookings.

This has been occasioned by technical challenges on its fleet plying coastal routes that have forced the airline to reschedule most of its flights.

The situation has been made even worse with some passengers being flown to Mombasa International Airport for onward transfer by bus to their intended destinations.

According to the Jambojet, the failed delivery of a new leased aircraft to ply the route added to the pressure of cancellations and delays during the festive season.

However Jambojet has come under sharp criticism from hoteliers for overbooking passengers, knowing very well it did not have the capacity to handle the surge in travel numbers.

Lucky passengers were placed on available seats on Kenya Airways, which owns the airline.

Kenya Coast Tourism Association Chairman Mohamed Hersi took to his official Facebook page to voice his displeasure given the fact that the December Holidays present booming business for hotels in the region.

“Why would you sell more tickets that you can handle then you take a bigger aircraft that cannot land in Ukund. Passengers heading to Ukunda chose a direct flight to avoid the pain at the ferry and you go ahead to subject them to the same pain again without any qualms,” Mr Hersi questioned.

Jambojet operates flights to Ukunda, Malindi and Lamu through a lease partnership agreement with DAC Aviation.

In a statement, Jambojet said the technical challenges were unforeseen with the airline doing everything to restore normal operations.

“This being a high season,, we had anticipated the spike in traffic and had all the plans in place, however the technical hitches led to the regrettable delays and re-routing,” the airline said.

KQ increased the frequency of flights into the coast over the Christmas period even deploying a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the route to meet demand.

Jambojet said the failed delivery of a leased plane further scuttled its plans to meet the higher capacity.

“Additionally the delivery of our newly leased aircraft initially scheduled for introduction during the peak season was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances and will only be delivered in early 2017,” Jambojet said.

Tags:

Kenya Airways lamu Jambojet delays coast region malindi DAC Aviation flight cancellations holidaymakers hoteliers hotels at the coast Kenya Coast Tourism Association Mohamed Hersi Ukunda

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