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Why Kenya Airways passengers need a support group! Over the holidays we travelled to Cape Town. It was all going well until our scheduled return on 2 January 2026. KQ sent a message saying the flight was delayed by 2 hours. Fortunately, we had not left the hotel. Then it sent a message saying it was delayed by 4 hours and would depart at 1750. Ok, so we had time to eat lunch. We got to the airport to find that there was no one manning the KQ check-in counters and our flight was not showing on the information displays. We were referred to a third party ticketing agent and joined a long queue of passengers totalling about 40 pax. Whilst waiting on the queue we checked the KQ website, which still showed that our 1750 flight was departing as promised. So began a weekend full of frustration and high drama.

Friday 2 January 2026 Apparently, our flight had been cancelled for mechanical reasons. Eventually, we were advised that the next fight to Nairobi would depart 5 days later on Tuesday, 6 January 2026! Yes, that is correct, regardless of our school or work commitments. After spending many fruitless hours at the airport, we were eventually checked into a downtown hotel by KQ just before sunset.

Saturday 3 January 2026 At breakfast, we were told by the hotel staff that KQ had arranged for us to fly out that afternoon and that we needed to check out and make our way back to Cape Town International Airport. We packed up and boarded the shuttle arranged by KQ. At the check in counters our group was informed that the flight was overbooked and that our new return date remained Tuesday, 6 January 2026. So why check out? Because the hotel was full. KQ could not arrange accommodation for all of us because the hotels were fully booked. So we had to find our own accommodation, meals and transport! We left the hotel with our families and booked into another venue feeling very aggrieved. However, things were worse for other passengers. There was an elderly gentlemen who was scheduled to fly out on KQ on New Years Day to Dubai, but had spent 3 days go back to the airport trying to find a way out. There was also another lady who bought a ticket online from KQ that Saturday, only to be told that another airline member had been assigned her seat.

Sunday 4 January 2026 No communication or update from KQ. Apparently, a small group of 5 people did manage to fly home on 2 separate flights. For the rest of us, we resolved to try to make the best of the extended holiday.

Monday 5 January 2026 We were advised by our travel agent to check in online as early as possible to try to maximise our chances of flying out on the Tuesday. We did so.

Tuesday 6 January 2026 We checked in (phew!). The flight was delayed, but eventually took off.

Lessons learnt: First, avoid travelling during holidays. Second, it will take massive changes before KQ can credibly call itself the Pride of Africa.

Ride or die. Kes.10.00+,, staying focused is the rule of the game. Senior elder Obiero am 100% on your lane on this Ride .🤝

My sweet name.. Make sure you also remind people here what was the percentage gain from Obiero's COOP shareholdings. I trade openly and inform my stock picks and exits, consistently. Watch and learn

sure your projection is already in progress at the market. We still hold steady.