Kenya Airways (KQ) has paid a touching tribute to the late former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga by adopting a special call sign ‘RAO001’ on a flight bound for Nairobi. The symbolic gesture was made midair as Flight KQ203 entered Kenyan airspace on Thursday morning, honoring one of Kenya’s most influential political figures.
In an emotional announcement shared on X (formerly Twitter), the national carrier confirmed that the flight would switch its call sign to RAO001 at approximately 8:50 a.m., as it crossed into Kenya. The statement read:
“KQ203 will change to RAO001 as soon as we reach Kenyan airspace at around 8:50 a.m. to honor and respect our departed leader. ETA at JKIA is 9:30 a.m.”
The special call sign RAO001 reflects Raila Odinga’s initials (Raila Amolo Odinga) and underscores his national stature as a statesman, liberation hero, and long-serving opposition leader.
The flight, expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 9:30 a.m., carried a Kenyan delegation led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. The team had traveled to India on Wednesday evening following the announcement of Raila’s passing earlier that morning.
A call sign in aviation serves as a unique identifier used for communication between aircraft and air traffic control. It is a symbolic yet technical gesture that carries deep meaning in this context — similar to the presidential call sign KAO1 used when the President of Kenya is on board a flight.
Kenya Airways’ decision to rename the flight is being lauded across social media as a powerful tribute to a man who shaped Kenya’s democratic history. The gesture signifies national unity and collective mourning for a leader whose influence transcended politics.
