Kuwait Airways sale gets final government approval

KUWAIT, July 21 (Reuters) - Kuwait gave on Monday the final nod for the privatisation plans of loss-making Kuwait Airways Corp [KA.UL] (KAC), after parliament approved the plan earlier this year, the cabinet said.

Kuwait's parliament in January approved a long-delayed government plan to sell 40 percent of the carrier to the public and 35 percent to a long-term investor within two years.

"The council of ministers approved a draft decree ... to turn Kuwait Airways Corp into a private company," the cabinet said in a statement after its weekly meeting.

The plan still has to be approved by the Gulf Arab state's emir, who usually signs government-endorsed bills.

The airline's chairman, Hamad al-Falah, said last month he expected the carrier to be privatised within 10 months.

Kuwait Airways, which lost most of its fleet during Iraq's 1990-1991 occupation of Kuwait, has 17 aircraft, according to its website.

The airline would not buy new aircraft until the privatisation was complete, a company official said in February. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; editing by Sue Thomas)