KUWAIT CITY, July 10: Acting Minister of Communications, Social Affairs and Labor Salem Al-Utheina has submitted a comprehensive report on the Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) fleet to the interim Cabinet, reports Al-Jarida daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed that Al-Utheina stated in his report that many KAC airplanes do not meet the safety and security conditions; hence, they are not fit for flying. He asked acting Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak to quickly charter new planes to support the old fleet. He said KAC will refer passengers affected by the suspended flights to other airline companies, sources added.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed some parties have expressed concern over the future of the corporation, especially after Al-Utheina decided to ground five airplanes to protect people’s lives. They also want to know if KAC will be restructured or privatized to prevent further collapse.

Some experts pointed out the modernization of KAC’s fleet will not make any difference unless the company improves its reputation. They said it is better if the government presses ahead with the plan to privatize the company.

Other experts think the best way to address the problem is to restructure KAC before taking the necessary procedures for its privatization by converting it into a public company, which will be affiliated to the Ministry of Communications and under the supervision of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). They suggested the government can sell the company after restructuring but it should keep majority of the shares. They added the problem of KAC got worse when some MPs rejected the proposal to purchase new aircraft.

In a related development, Al-Watan Arabic daily has quoted Sheikh Salman Al-Otaibi, who was on board the KAC aircraft that malfunctioned recently, as saying the company does not care about the lives of passengers. He said the passengers, who were on their way to perform Omrah, survived through the mercy of Allah.

Sheikh Salman made the statement at a dinner party organized by his uncle in his diwaniya to celebrate his safe return from the so-called ‘flight of horror’. He unveiled his plan to file a lawsuit against the company, which is responsible for the lives of passengers. He also stressed the need to upgrade KAC’s fleet to prevent the recurrence of the horrible incident in the future.