Kenya Airways addresses claims of unlicensed pilot flying its planes for 8 years

Kenya Airways (KQ) has responded to claims that went viral on social media alleging that one of its pilots flew its airplanes for eight years without a valid pilot’s license.

The national carrier released a statement on Saturday, dismissing the reports as fake and urging the public to disregard the same.

"Our attention has been drawn to a news story circulating on online blogs and different social media platforms alleging that a Keryar Pilot flew for Kenya Airways for 8 years without a Pilot's license. The General Public is advised to treat this as fake news as no such pilot has ever flown for Kenya Airways," KQ noted in its statement.

The statement added that all its pilot and crew go through rigorous training and screening to ensure that they hold valid qualifications and the required licenses for their roles.

“All Kenya Airways pilots and crew go through very rigorous training, background, and security checks to ensure that they are qualified to operate,” added the statement.

The highly-regulated industry in which Kenya Airways operates is characterized by regular audits that the airline has always undergone and is compliant on all fronts.

"Further due diligence is conducted while vetting applicants including verification of documents from the institution where an applicant attended training KQ operates in a highly regulated environment with regular audits from a number of regulators across its network," KQ added.

File image of a Kenya Airways plane Pulse Live Kenya

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KQ noted that all pilot’s licenses are issued and renewed by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority on a yearly basis after confirming that the holder has met the bare minimum requirements set by KCA.

"All pilot licenses are issued and renewed annually by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), upon establishing that the holder has met required knowledge and experiences.” KQ added, dismissing the reports as fake news.

The reports surfaced at a time when the Law Society of Kenya has flagged the activities of one Brian Mwenda who the society has accused of impersonation and representing clients without holding the required qualifications.

Unverified reports claim that Mwenda had a good run, winning 26 cases.