KUWAIT CITY, Nov 21: As part of the series of promotions that it has been doing over the past several months to pump fresh blood into middle positions, the Board of Directors of Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) -- headed by Abdul Mohsen Al-Faqan -- recently appointed Eng Ali Abu Al-Banat as Director of the Quality and Inspection Department in the Engineering Sector. Sources confirmed that the Board of Directors, which assumed duties in September 2023, continues to intensify its activities in all work corridors at KAC through the promotions campaign that was launched at the end of the period of the decision to suspend transfers, secondments, promotions and appointments in the public sector.

Sources said the Board of Directors is keen on putting the right person in the right middle and senior positions to develop the performance of the national carrier. The Arab Times inquired about the increase in the number of non-Kuwaiti employees in the corporation compared to citizens, according to the latest statistics issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI, which revealed that the number of national employees at the beginning of 2024 reached 1,119 -- 987 males and 132 females, while the number of expat employees reached 4,492.

In response, sources confirmed that the Board of Directors has been fully aware of this difference; but it opted to focus first on organizing and screening positions through the promotions campaign, and then it will pump fresh blood through new appointments, in preparation for increasing the percentage of national employees.

Certain positions at KAC are not attractive for Kuwaitis, such as the simple jobs and those not suitable to their specializations, and they are replaced by appointing non-Kuwaitis under certain conditions. The upcoming series of appointments will include the highest number of Kuwaitis, as this is the goal of the Board of Directors, sources added. Sources clarified the current board is not asking about increasing the number of non- Kuwaiti employees, but it is working hard to raise the Kuwaitization rate by prioritizing Kuwaitis in the appointments.

By Najeh Bilal
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff