Nairobi, July 23 -- Named after its launch fare of Sh5,540 on the Nairobi-Mombasa route in 2006, budget airline Fly540 had set out to prove that air travel in Kenya did not have to be a reserve for corporate executives and affluent tourists.

The low-cost carrier attracted international investors and pioneered a business model that competitors would later embrace.

However, the same airline that had promised to 'democratise flying' gradually found itself overwhelmed by shareholder disputes, tax claims, aircraft leasing rows, creditor petitions and years of courtroom battles that eclipsed its commercial ambitions.

Behind the fairytale launch of Fly540 was co-founder and widely experienced aviation administrator Nixon Azariah Ochieng' Ooko...