Travel News

• Kenya Airways swings into first-half pretax loss
• CEO says airline aims for full fleet availability by next year
• Airline to finalise plans for capital boost by first quarter of 2026

NAIROBI, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Kenya Airways aims to finalise plans to raise at least $500 million in extra capital to expand and improve its fleet by the first quarter of next year, the airline said on Tuesday, after it reported a pretax loss in the first half.

One of Africa’s three biggest airlines, Kenya Airways posted a loss of 12.17 billion shillings ($94.34 million) in the first half of this year, compared with a profit of 634 million shillings in the same period last year.

The airline attributed the loss to a drop in revenue and passenger numbers caused by three of its planes – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners – being out of commission for maintenance.

CEO Allan Kilavuka told an investor briefing that one of the planes had resumed services in July, and said the airline was working to have a full fleet available by next year.

He said the airline planned to identify the source of the additional capital and get shareholders’ approval within the first three months of next year.

“We’ve said the minimum that we are gunning for is about half a billion dollars, which we believe (is) a minimum. That will address the fleet expansions that we’re looking (for),” he said.

The pretax profit that the airline posted in the first half of 2024 was the first it had made in over a decade.

Tuesday’s report showed operating loss for the half-year was 6.2 billion shillings, down from a 1.3 billion shilling profit in first half 2024, while revenue fell to 74.5 billion shillings from 91.5 billion shillings during the same period last year.

Kenya Airways went into insolvency in 2018 after an expansion drive left it with debts reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.

It has relied on state financial support, with the government paying off a loan of $150 million in January that the airline had received from local commercial banks.

The company ended 2024 with a full-year pretax profit of 5.53 billion shillings, compared with a loss of 22.86 billion shillings the year before.

A big driver of 2024 performance was foreign-exchange gains of 10.55 billion shillings, versus a loss of 15.04 billion shillings in 2023, as the local currency strengthened more than 20% against the dollar that year.

($1 = 129.0000 Kenyan shillings)

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Barbara Lewis and Helen Popper)

Heathrow airport and arrested a passenger, who allegedly punched a crew member and attempted to open the jet door.

Emergency services rushed to the Boeing 787 shortly after it landed from Jeddah just before 1pm on Thursday. According to The Sun, the plane braked sharply on the taxiway to Terminal 4 after the incident, prompting the pilots to call for immediate assistance.

Stairs were erected and officials boarded the jet, which was carrying passengers on Flight SV119. Pictures obtained by The Sun show at least four fire trucks, six police cars and several ambulances at the scene.

The newspaper reported that the disruption began as the aircraft taxied to its stand. A man argued with a crew member, then struck him before trying to open one of the aircraft doors.

A source told The Sun: “It was chaos on board and very frightening for families. The plane had wheels down but a passenger was so agitated and struck out at the crew because he wanted to get off there and then.”

Police confirmed they had arrested a passenger on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

The Saudia flight, registered HZ-AR27, left Jeddah 38 minutes late and took just over six hours to reach London.

The Independent has reached out to the Met Police for comment.

BY  Daphne Psaledakis and George Obulutsa

Francia Marquez, Vice-President of Colombia, says a meeting was held with Nigerian aviation stakeholders over the commencement of direct flights as part of efforts to deepen bilateral ties.

According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, on Monday, Marquez announced during a visit to the state house in Abuja, where she was received by President Bola Tinubu.

The meeting comes on the heels of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on political consultations signed by both governments.

The agreement was formalised on Monday during the Nigeria-Colombia bilateral meeting and business forum held in Abuja, and was signed by Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, and Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, Colombia’s deputy minister for multilateral affairs.

Speaking during the meeting, Marquez said aviation was one of several areas identified for strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.

She noted that her visit marks the beginning of a long-term relationship built on substantial cultural similarity and heritage.

“We have had a meeting with the business leaders in aviation on the need to start direct flights to Colombia,” Marquez said.

The vice-president assured that relations with Nigeria would benefit both countries, particularly in areas such as social justice, gender equality, and inclusivity.

Also speaking, Tinubu assured the delegation of senior government, business, and diplomatic officials from the South American country that Nigeria will replicate the agreements signed with Brazil on aviation and consular issues with Colombia.

>span class="s1">“Our business opportunities with Colombia have already been enhanced. I support every aspect that you have agreed on,” he said.

“Particularly for Colombia, the agreement we entered with Brazil can easily be replicated in aviation, and our diplomatic relations can be enhanced. The ministry of foreign affairs will accelerate that.”

Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff; Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy; Jumoke Oduwole, minister of industry, trade, and investment; and Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, minister of women affairs and social development, were present at the meeting.

Nick Eardley Political correspondent

Paul Seddon Political reporter

Tens of thousands of foreign students are being contacted directly by the government and told they will be removed from the UK if they overstay their visas.

The Home Office launched the new government campaign in response to what it has called an "alarming" spike in the number of international students arriving legally on student visas then claiming asylum when they expire.

As part of the campaign, the Home Office has for the first time proactively contacted international students directly by text and email.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC some international students are claiming asylum "even when things haven't changed in their home country".

Around 13% of asylum applications in the year to June, around 14,800, came from people in the UK a study visa, according to Home Office data, external.

Pakistan was the most common country of origin, responsible for 5,700 of these applications, followed by students from India, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.

Although the number of student visa holders applying for asylum has dropped from the year before, it is nearly six times as many as in 2020, according to the department.

The Home Office did not break down how many applications were made from students who overstayed their visa.

Clamping down on study as a means to claim asylum has increasingly been a focus for the Home Office in recent months.

In May, the department announced it planned to tighten rules that aim to stop migrants using university study as a way to enter the UK.

Under the plans, beginning this month, the visa refusal and course completion rates that universities have to meet in order not to risk losing their ability to sponsor future visas are to be made stricter.

It comes as the government tries to regain the initiative on migration, following a summer dominated by headlines on small boat arrivals and the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

As MPs returned to Parliament on Monday, Cooper announced new applications for a scheme allowing refugees to bring their family members to the UK would be temporarily suspended.

The government is also promising that the first migrant returns under the UK's new "one in, one out" deal with France will begin later this month.

The new message campaign will see around 130,000 students and their families receive a message telling them if they have "no legal right to remain" in the country they "must leave".

Ten thousand international students whose visas are due to expire have already been contacted directly by text and email - warning them they could be deported.

Tens of thousands more will receive the message in the coming months, the BBC understands, to coincide with autumn when applications often increase.

The full message will read: "If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused.

"Any request for asylum support will be assessed against destitution criteria. If you do not meet the criteria, you will not receive support.

"If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave.

"If you don't, we will remove you."

Cooper told BBC Breakfast that students are entering the asylum system and sometimes staying there for years, which "causes problems with asylum accommodation and hotels".

"We obviously will do our bit to support genuine refugees," she added, "but if nothing has changed in their country, people should not be claiming asylum at the end of a student course."

While the political focus this summer has been on people arriving on small boats, a similar number arrive legally with visas, then apply for asylum often when those visas run out.

Many of these claims are legitimate, but ministers are worried that too many international students are seeking asylum simply to stay in the country because their leave to remain has run out.

According to the Home Office, 43,600 out of 111,084 asylum applications in the year to June came from people arriving on a small boat.

But a similar number, 41,100, had travelled to the UK legally through routes such as a work, study, or visitor visa, including the 14,800 on student visas.

Earlier this year, the Home Office announced a cut in the amount of time overseas graduates can stay in the UK after their studies – from two years to 18 months.

Universities UK, an umbrella group for British universities, said it recognised the government had "raised concerns about the number of asylum claims, and we have discussed this matter with officials".

"To make sure universities can continue to play their part, we need improved, real-time data sharing between Home Office and the sector so that universities can respond proactively to any issues as soon as they are identified," it added.

The Refugee Council said the situation in some students' home countries could change "dramatically" after their arrival in the UK.

Jon Featonby, the charity's senior policy analyst, said other people seeking asylum only felt safe enough to ask for protection once they reach the UK "because they fear reprisal or surveillance in their home country".

"It's wrong to suggest that people who arrive on a visa and then apply for asylum are abusing the system and do not have a genuine need for protection," he added.

BY  Rachael Burford

Ministers are set to crack down on foreign students remaining in the UK once their visas run out as 15,000 a year are now claiming asylum, the Home Secretary has said.

International students and their families will, for the first time, be contacted by the Home Office to warn them they must leave if they have no right to remain in Britain.

The text and email campaign is the latest step the Government is taking to grasp migration after Yvette Cooper revealed the first returns of migrants crossing the Channel will begin later this month.

On Tuesday she confirmed ministers are seeking to prevent international students claiming asylum once their visas come to an end.

"Up to 15,000 students each year end up claiming asylum", she told BBC Breakfast.

International students will recieve a text that states: “If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused.

“Any request for asylum support will be assessed against destitution criteria. If you do not meet the criteria, you will not receive support.

“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

On Monday, MPs returned to Parliament after a summer which saw unrest over how ministers have handled the small boats crisis.

The Home Secretary told the Commons that following the deal signed with France last month “we expect the first returns to begin later this month”.

The “one in, one out” pilot scheme has been agreed for the UK to send back migrants to France who crossed the Channel, in exchange for those who apply and are approved to come to the UK.

Ms Cooper also told the Commons new applications to the existing refugee family reunion route will be suspended this week, meaning refugees will be covered by “the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else” until new rules are introduced.

Further reforms to family reunion routes will be outlined later this year and introduced by spring.

Tens of thousands of students will get the message after a spike in the number of overseas students claiming asylum once their studies come to an end.

Tens of thousands of foreign students have been contacted by the Home Office and warned they will be deported if they overstay their visas.

In part of separate plans to crack down on illegal immigration, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also told Gareth Barlow on Sky News Breakfast that she expects the first deportations under a new returns deal with France to begin "later this month".

The Home Office messaging campaign comes as it says there has been a spike in the number of overseas students claiming asylum once their studies come to an end.

The text warns that asylum applications without merit will be "swiftly and robustly refused", and those without a legal right to remain in the UK must leave or face removal.

Nearly 10,000 students and dependents received the warning last week, but the plan is to send it to over 130,000 people in total as their visa expiry dates approach.

The full message reads: "If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused.

"Any request for asylum support will be assessed against destitution criteria. If you do not meet the criteria, you will not receive support.

"If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don't, we will remove you."

The campaign is the latest step in the government's attempt to crack down on migration.

While the summer recess has been dominated by negative headlines about small boat crossings, ministers want to bring down legal levels too, which they argue soared under the Tories.

According to the Home Office, asylum claims from legal routes - those who have entered the UK on a visa or other leave - tripled between June 2022 and June 2025, accounting for 37% (41,400) of overall claims in the year ending June 2025.

International students made up the highest proportion of claimants at 40%, followed by 29% from work visas and 24% visitors.

The data shows that over the past six months, there has been a 10% fall in student asylum claims, but the government wants this to drop further.

Ministers are under pressure to clear the asylum backlog and empty hotels after weeks of protests in many towns across the country against their use.

One way the government is trying to do this is through the previously agreed "one-in-one-out" deal with France.

Ms Cooper, speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, said she expected the first deportations to begin "later this month".

However, she would not give a "cast-iron guarantee", stressing the one-in-one-out deal is a "pilot" scheme.

On Monday, as Sir Keir Starmer launched "phase two" of his government with a reshuffle in Number 10, Ms Cooper also announced a crackdown on family reunion rules to deter small boat crossings.

But Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, which announced its migration policy last week, accused her of talking "waffle".

He told Sky News: "The only way that you will create a proper deterrent is to detain and deport everybody who comes here illegally. Her measures, announced yesterday, is just more waffle. It'll make no difference whatsoever."

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced the conditions and application procedures for travel agencies wishing to participate in the 2026 Hajj operations.

Britain’s biggest tour operator has slashed its winter flight schedule as consumers cut back spending amid uncertainty around future tax rises.

Jet2 has cut 200,000 seats from its services to winter sunspots such as Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote, as it warned it was facing a “less certain consumer environment”.

Steve Heapy, chief executive, said it was grappling with “a difficult market” and warned that earnings would take a hit as a result.

Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes at her next Budget in November, as she battles to lower Britain’s debt pile. Meanwhile, inflation is expected to stay high for the rest of the year, meaning higher costs for consumers.

Analysts at Barclays said uncertainty over the coming Budget appeared to have become a “relevant factor” in people evaluating whether they could afford a winter break, and that they will need “enticing with fare offers” if demand is to be propped up.

Shares in Jet2 plunged as much as 25pc on Thursday following the warning, later paring back some of these losses.

A slump in sales of package holidays will sound alarm bells, as all-inclusive breaks traditionally do well when money is tight. Weakness in the market suggests that consumers may be rapidly reevaluating their own spending power.

Shaun Morton, the chief executive of On The Beach, Jet2’s rival, told the Telegraph last month that outlay on holidays had become almost non-discretionary for Britons – who were prepared to put off purchases such as a new kitchen or car to fund a Mediterranean break.

That may be less so for winter holidays, which have always been viewed as more of a luxury than the traditional mid-summer getaway.

On the Beach shares slumped as much 9pc, while easyJet, which has made package holidays and city breaks a cornerstone of its business model in recent years, fell more than 4pc.

The Chancellor revealed on Wednesday that she would deliver her budget on Nov 26, the latest possible date, as she attempts to salvage Britain’s dire public finances.

Ms Reeves’s first Budget in Oct 2024 raised taxes by a total of £40bn, including unpopular increases for businesses and family farms.

Surging borrowing costs and public sector pay combined with anaemic growth mean she is likely to have to impose a further hike of at least £20bn, and may be compelled to break Labour’s manifesto pledge of not raising taxes on “working people” in the process.

Jet2 said that even after shrinking its winter flight programme it will still be increasing the number of aircraft seats by 9pc to 5.6 million compared with a year earlier.

BY Imoleayo Oyedeyi, Grace Edema, Temitope Adetunji and Daniel Ayantoye

Some Nigerians in the United Kingdom are seeking legal means to remain in the country as the expiration of their student visas draws near, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

The moves came amid fresh migration policies and warnings recently issued by the UK government.

The UK government, in an emergency alert published on its website last Sunday, announced that about 10,000 international students had already been contacted to leave the country over the expiration of their visas.

It explained that the move follows a surge in asylum claims from visa holders.

Asylum applications from work, study and tourist visa-holders were said to have more than tripled under the previous government and accounted for 37 per cent (41,400) of overall claims in the year ending June 2025.

International students made up the highest proportion of claimants at 40 per cent, followed by 29 per cent from work visas and 24 per cent from visitors.