Kenya Airways has issued a statement following the cancellation of a scheduled flight from New York to Nairobi.
In a notice on Sunday, July 19, the airline said severe weather conditions affected airport operations, leading to the cancellation of Kenya Airways flight KQ003, which was scheduled to depart from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday, July 18.
Kenya Airways said the decision was made with the safety and comfort of passengers and crew in mind.
"For the safety and comfort of our crew and passengers, KQ003, scheduled to depart on Saturday, 18 July 2026, from New York (John F. Kennedy International Airport) to Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport), was cancelled," the statement read.
Kenya Airways said the flight would resume once the weather conditions improve and all required safety, regulatory and air traffic clearance procedures have been completed.
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"The aircraft will depart as soon as weather conditions improve all the safety and regulatory measures have been met and the necessary air traffic clearance is granted," the statement added.
Kenya Airways apologised to the affected passengers for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation and assured them that they would continue receiving updates on the situation.
"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our guests for their patience and understanding. We will continue to keep our affected guests updated with the latest information," the statement concluded.
This comes weeks after Kenya Airways issued a statement after one of its flights bound for New York was forced to turn back to Nairobi following a technical issue while flying over Chad.
In a statement, the airline said flight KQ 002D, which departed Nairobi on Sunday, July 5, experienced a flight controls spoiler malfunction, prompting the crew to return the aircraft as a precautionary safety measure.
"Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) confirms that on 5 July 2026, at around 19:50Hrs, flight KQ 002D from Nairobi to New York experienced a flight controls spoiler malfunction while flying over Chad," the statement read.
The national carrier said the crew followed the required safety procedures before deciding to return to Nairobi for further inspection of the aircraft.
"For the safety of our guests and crew onboard, the crew followed precautionary safety checks and elected to return to Nairobi for further technical evaluation by our teams. The aircraft is expected to land safely on 6th July at 00:30Hrs," the statement added.
Kenya Airways further explained that spoiler malfunctions are uncommon and that pilots are trained to handle such situations safely.
"Spoiler malfunctions are rare but can occur, and they cause increased drag and fuel consumption. Our pilots are trained to proficiently handle these scenarios safely, and air turnbacks are standard safety procedures," the statement concluded.
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