KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) has apologized after facing backlash for issuing an “explanation” stating that flights to Kenya and Tanzania would be disrupted due to “civil unrest” in the East African countries.
In a “cautionary alert” released on January 27, 2023, the airline said: “Due to civil unrest in Tanzania and Kenya from Friday 27 January up to and including Monday 30 January 2023, some of our flights to, from or via Dar-es-Salaam (DAR), Kilimanjaro (JRO), Zanzibar (ZNZ), and Nairobi (NBO) may be disrupted.”
This alert incited criticism from both the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments which refuted the airline’s “false” and “baseless” claims.
KLM has since apologized and clarified in a statement that the “cautionary alert” was only meant for its customers in Tanzania and was “inadvertently and erroneously” shared with its Kenyan customers. The Dutch airline confirmed that its flight to and from Nairobi would not face any disruptions.
A statement was issued by the Kenyan Ministry of Roads and Transport on January 28, 2023, where Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said: “I have spoken to Dutch Airline KLM’s Country Representative to Kenya about a false claim posted on their social media on the purported civil unrest in Kenya.”
“I have officially registered my protest with the airline against this unfounded, false, insensitive and misleading information that paints Kenya in bad light,” Murkomen continued
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