Complaints have emerged that Kenyan airline Fly540 is using very old aircraft that is putting the lives of passengers at risk. The first complaint emerged on the Facebook page of Phil Etale, who is the communications director at the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party. He posted the following message mid last year:
“Monday this week, passengers on a @Fly540Aviation flight to Eldoret were a frightened lot. The aircraft upon taking off from JKIA had difficulties picking up & the air conditioner started emitting hot air. While somewhere in Nakuru, things became thicker. The plane literally began slowing down. A passenger friend of mine told me “Philip, we knew we were going to die. Everyone was worried. Nobody talked to the other. Even the cabin crew was terrified. They did not give us any hope”. My friend tells me that the pilot had to make a u-turn back to the JKIA. “When we arrived at the airport, nobody wanted to be the last to disembark from the plane. Our trip had aborted and I lost a lot. I was going for a crucial business meeting”. Fly 540, this is not the first time people are complaining about your aircraft. Do something before a disaster happens.”
Among the comments Kenyans made on the post was one by a Kenyan known as Jesca Kiplagat, who said: “Weee on Monday, I boarded fly 540 from Eldoret to Nairobi. I thought we would die. It was raining and the weather was really bad. On taking off , I felt the plane had difficulty going up.. Our journey all through was rough, the plane was shaking and I thought we would crash. I literally closed my eyes all through the journey, I was crying. I thank God we landed safely.. Very bad experience with 540… “
On its website, though, Fly540 appears to deny using old aircraft. It says that “our aircraft are maintained by our experienced engineers and technicians who have had extensive training, both regionally and internationally, and are licensed to practice by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).”
It lists its Fly540 Fleet as follows:
| Bombardier Dash 8 102 Series Type: Twin-engine, medium-range, turboprop airliner Number in service: Two Capacity per aircraft: 37 passengers |
| CANADAIR CL-600-2B19 REGIONAL JET Type: Twin-engine regional jet Number in service: Three Capacity per aircraft: 50 passengers |
| DC-9 Type: Twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner Number in service: One Capacity per aircraft: 1,336 x 210 x 190 cm cargo hold |
| FOKKER F28 Type: Short range jet airliner Number in service: One Capacity per aircraft: 67 passengers |
