Airline employees have put their lives on the line to continue operating flights at this time. We’ve heard a countless number of stories of airline employees getting COVID-19, and unfortunately this has even resulted in some deaths.
As reported by The Citizen, a senior Kenya Airways Boeing 787 captain has just died a few days after testing positive for COVID-19, days after operating Kenya Airways’ last scheduled flight to New York.
The 61 year old captain, Daudi Kimuyu Kibati, became ill on March 29, 2020, and passed away just a few days later, on April 1, 2020.
He was in command of the last scheduled Kenya Airways flight from New York to Nairobi, which departed on March 23, 2020, and operated just shortly before Kenya banned international flights.
The Kenya Airways captain had just operated a flight to New York
Kenya Airways had offered Kenyans stuck in New York free tickets home for that flight, and there was a strict timeline, as the flight needed to land before Kenya’s borders closed on March 25.
Upon landing in Nairobi, the crew self quarantined in hotels, and that’s the point at which the captain became sick. As of now Kenya only has 122 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and just four deaths, with a Kenya Airways captain among those.
What a heartbreaking story, and my thoughts are with his family.
The coronavirus is a plot by china to damage the world... look how china has stabilised while the rest of the world has ever increasing cases of new infections? China is such an evil regime, introducing viruses around the world to harm others, they will be punished one day
You sir are clearly disgruntled. Maybe you should avail yourself of our free healthcare services in Canada. The spiteful rage you exhude is hardly Canadian. Shame on you. You make us all look like Trumpettes. Please take care of your physical and mental health. And maybe consider that you are very lucky to live where you do. Especially for a world traveler. I also returned from a trip spanning 5 countries over 3 months including...
You sir are clearly disgruntled. Maybe you should avail yourself of our free healthcare services in Canada. The spiteful rage you exhude is hardly Canadian. Shame on you. You make us all look like Trumpettes. Please take care of your physical and mental health. And maybe consider that you are very lucky to live where you do. Especially for a world traveler. I also returned from a trip spanning 5 countries over 3 months including Portugal and was very happy to return to my homeland. I love my country...CANADA
@Buck
Aha - a Liberal with head in sand.
I was in Japan, Borneo, Philippines, Bali in January and early February when all the Asian countries started shutting borders. Trudeau was in Munich and Barbados begging for votes and throwing money at Iran. The first case in Canada was Vancouver approx Jan 18. But the west is not on Trudeau's radar.
Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong jumped on this immediately and check their numbers....
@Buck
Aha - a Liberal with head in sand.
I was in Japan, Borneo, Philippines, Bali in January and early February when all the Asian countries started shutting borders. Trudeau was in Munich and Barbados begging for votes and throwing money at Iran. The first case in Canada was Vancouver approx Jan 18. But the west is not on Trudeau's radar.
Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong jumped on this immediately and check their numbers. They immediately shut borders and appear to be safe from Covid19.
Trudeau dithered and played his fiddle while Rome burned. He didn't even think of closing the borders (especially the illegal border) until late MARCH, two months late. And only after the US shut the borders to Canada and Canadians flying through the US. I was in Portugal at the end of the trip and trying to get home but could not fly via the US after March 15.
While in Asia and up to our arrival in Lisbon Feb 25 our temperatures were taken 13 times at various locations, the last on arrival in Lisbon. We eventually were able to get a flight to Canada from Lisbon March 21- and on arrival were met with NOTHING as in NOTHING. Not even a "where have you been, are you feeling sick" question. No temperatures, no health questions, no quarantine no nothing. Reports are that Pearson is STILL NOT doing anything but handing out a piece of paper.
Trudeau gave away health PPE supplies when we should have been preparing for the onslaught. Criminal negligence. Now he is surprised that we have only 2 days supply in Montreal and maybe a week or two in BC. You claim he is proactive? Only towards the security council. Health of Canadians? Don't even jest.
You may have also missed the point about our parliament. Trudeau has a minority government that will fall as soon as we are over this. And based on his record any Canadian with half a brain will toss him out. Why do you think he is trying to be so sweet instead of doing anything. History will record him as being the worst PM in Canadian history.
I think "ridiculous assertions" are to be found only in what it said by our PM. He won't even release real numbers because they are so staggering that there could be a revolution. We are not even testing people with symptoms so the real numbers will only be reflected by the death count.
Canada is only 10% the size of the US and widely spread out except for Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver who are the hot spots in the country where the health care systems are already OVERLOADED. Early days. Our size and small population density may save many people but our death tolls will rival the US especially when our PPE runs out (next week?).
Trudeau tried to take over parliament with his emergency financial bill last week. Perhaps you did not see the evil? The (minority) government can only be defeated on a money bill which is the only way to trigger the next election. By removing parliament from voting on money he was trying to ensure that his minority government would last the 4 years that you claim by preventing parliament from chucking him out.
Hitler did the same thing to the Reichstag in 1933 which allowed him to appoint himself Fuhrer for life. Is this what we really want?
@Azamaraal Get your facts straight. There is a huge difference between how the governments on both sides of the border handled the looming pandemic:
Canada and PM Trudeau were in the forefront of acknowledging the looming crisis and instituting containment measures whereas Trump was in denial that what was happening will just go away and was the creation of the democrats and a "hoax". That delay is what has caused the US to be the...
@Azamaraal Get your facts straight. There is a huge difference between how the governments on both sides of the border handled the looming pandemic:
Canada and PM Trudeau were in the forefront of acknowledging the looming crisis and instituting containment measures whereas Trump was in denial that what was happening will just go away and was the creation of the democrats and a "hoax". That delay is what has caused the US to be the current epicenter of the pandemic in the world - that is NOT the case in Canada.
The US has an election in the fall whereas here in Canada there won't be another one for at least 4 years so how can the PM "hide" from this pandemic for that length of time?
Your ridiculous assertions not based on facts.
@hosea
Yes - it is very big news. This is not "just flu". Mar 16 the US had about 3,000 cases of Covid. Today well over 300,000.
Instead of doing anything, the "leaders" of both the US and Canada hid and hoped it would just go away before the next election.
Yes, it is a very big deal.
61 year old captains are in the best of health because of constant medical monitoring. For a...
@hosea
Yes - it is very big news. This is not "just flu". Mar 16 the US had about 3,000 cases of Covid. Today well over 300,000.
Instead of doing anything, the "leaders" of both the US and Canada hid and hoped it would just go away before the next election.
Yes, it is a very big deal.
61 year old captains are in the best of health because of constant medical monitoring. For a healthy middle-aged man to show symptoms and then pass within 2 days shows how aggressive this virus is.
Hopefully by now you might realize that everyone MUST TAKE CARE to not contact, or become, a carrier infecting hundreds of others.
Stay home, wash your hands like Macbeth, social distance, and Stay Safe.
Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think, enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink. The years go by as quickly as a wink, enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.
EL, Hosea ... americans have to bring politics into everything
@Lucky - Good for you man. Never take anything lying down. They don't need to read your blogs. Just like the TV...change the channel! Some people like this @quasiBS guy is just a total ahole.
Ben, why do you not delete some of these a holes. i.e. hosea. Just asking...
@quasimodo.... your comments are so " out in left field " , they are ridiculous as Ben says, they are inflammatory and not pertinent. However here is a bit of advise. You style yourself as "quasimodo ", well then cease writing stupid things and instead better that you take care of that hunchback on your body.
This is a sad news. Kenya is such a beautiful country. May he rest in peace. Hopefully we will get through this terrible pandemic soon.
@Dylan days ago KLM sold tickets to China in April, and the passengers were told the flights were normally scheduled by the KLM phone agents, websites, and even the ci agents at the departure airports until they arrived in AMS! And the ground staffs at AMS refused to rebook them but tried to send them back to their departure points. Eventually the chinese embassy stepped in and rebooked them. :(
Tired of all this superficial (Intellectual) protestations of sadness.
Do you weep for all the workers who mined (and died?) to procure Coltan for your electronics?
Do you weep for all the folks who didn't die but live harshly to make XXX product that you use?
Do you weep for people who die of non COVID-19? Everyday...
Do you weep for indigenous folks who have their land taken by rapacious farmers in Brazil? Maybe it's...
Tired of all this superficial (Intellectual) protestations of sadness.
Do you weep for all the workers who mined (and died?) to procure Coltan for your electronics?
Do you weep for all the folks who didn't die but live harshly to make XXX product that you use?
Do you weep for people who die of non COVID-19? Everyday...
Do you weep for indigenous folks who have their land taken by rapacious farmers in Brazil? Maybe it's soy you eat from Brazil.
please...we can try to do the right thing...but all this "i'm sad BS" is ridiculous....
@ quasimodo -- C'mon, that's ridiculous. Obviously there are a lot of sad things out there. However, the reality -- right or wrong -- is that we often notice things most that are related to topics we care most about.
I'm passionate about the airline industry and follow it closely, so this story stood out to me. I also think there's a valuable lesson here, which is to appreciate the work airline crews are...
@ quasimodo -- C'mon, that's ridiculous. Obviously there are a lot of sad things out there. However, the reality -- right or wrong -- is that we often notice things most that are related to topics we care most about.
I'm passionate about the airline industry and follow it closely, so this story stood out to me. I also think there's a valuable lesson here, which is to appreciate the work airline crews are doing right now, and to not underestimate the danger they're putting themselves in.
This is a travel blog, about airlines, hotels, and loyalty programs. That's what I cover. I'm not going to go onto a PETA blog or forum and tell them to stop being sad about animals being slaughtered. Being said and calling attention to one thing shouldn't minimize other sad things going on out there...
That's not something
[extremely conservative guy voice]
is it news when a pilot dies of the flu?
They risk their lives to fly.
Libtards still complaining "price gouging" on Rescue Flights?
The first officer on the flight from New York to Nairobi also tested positive. Wishing him a quick recovery.
Very sad to hear about this unfortunate incident.
On another note, have you encountered other stories of airlines selling cancelled flights?
I booked a ticket on KLM today- and minutes after making the booking, I received a cancellation notice. When I went back to the KLM website, the cancelled flight is still on sale!?!
Are they trying to get cash in, just so they can offer customers with vouchers?
Seems illegal to me.
This is so sad, my thoughts are with his family and those that were close with him