Kenya Airways has suspended flights to the Democratic Republic of Congo in protest over the continued detention of two employees based in Kinshasa. 

The national carrier on Monday said it had resorted to suspending flights to Kinshasa as its operations at the airport were suffering due to lack of adequate support.

KQ had on Friday protested the detention of two staff by Congo’s Military Intelligence Unit over alleged incomplete documentation of what the carrier termed as valuable cargo. The employees have been in detention since April 19 when they were arrested from its airport office in Kinshasa, which the airline said was harassment targeting its business.

“Due to the continued detention of KQ employees by the Military Intelligence Unit in Kinshasa, Kenya Airways (KQ) is unable to support our flights without personnel effectively. As a result, we reached a difficult decision to suspend flights to Kinshasa effective April, 30, 2024 until we can effectively support these flights,” said KQ Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka in a statement.