Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has pushed back the launch of direct flights between Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta and Beijing Daxing International until 2026 as a shortage of operational B787-8s continues to disrupt its long-haul network, according to group CEO Allan Kilavuka.

The national carrier had planned to debut the route this year, but ongoing maintenance delays, driven by a global shortage of spare parts and overhaul capacity for the B787’s General Electric GEnx-1B70 engines, have left a third of the airline’s widebody fleet of nine B787-8s grounded. The three units in maintenance are 5Y-KZA (msn 35510), 5Y-KZB (msn 35511), and 5Y-KZH (msn 36045), according to ch-aviation data.

"We need all our Dreamliners back in operation, along with additional ones, to run the network efficiently," Kilavuka told the Bizna Kenya news site. He noted that a single engine overhaul costs about KES1.9 billion shillings (USD14.7 million), with each B787 requiring two, pushing lifetime maintenance costs for the fleet above KES34 billion (USD263 million).

The aircraft grounding has already weighed heavily on the airline’s performance. Kenya Airways reported a loss of KES12.15 billion (USD94 million) for the first half of 2025, reversing a record full-year profit in 2024. Passenger numbers dropped 14% in the first six months, while revenue passenger kilometres declined 19%.

ch-aviation has contacted Kenya Airways for comment.