In Nairobi, Kenya Airways flights have been interrupted due to a strike by its pilots which ground thousands of passengers (AFP/Archives/Simon MAINA)
Kenya Airways flights were halted on Saturday due to a strike by its pilots which grounded thousands of passengers, Kenya’s transport minister said.
The airline, owned by the State and the Air France-KLM group, is one of the largest in Africa, connecting several countries to Europe and Asia. For several years, she has been facing heavy losses.
The Kenya Airlines Pilots Association (KALPA) said no Kenya Airways flights operated by its members had departed from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport since 0600 (0300 GMT) on Saturday, equivalent to 15 aircraft.
“The strike is in full force,” KALPA union general secretary Murithi Nyagah said in a statement on Saturday.
The pilots, who are demanding an improvement in their working conditions, announced the strike despite a court injunction against the movement. They did not specify the duration.
Kenya’s new transport minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, told reporters on Saturday that the strike amounted to “economic sabotage”.
According to him, about 10,000 passengers are affected by this strike.
He appealed to the “good will of the pilots to put an end to the strike” while admitting that their demands “could be understood”.
Kenya Airways reported high phone call volumes to its customer service center on Saturday due to “unlawful industrial action in progress”.
The pilots are calling for the reinstatement of contributions to a provident fund. They are also asking for the payment of unpaid wages during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The actions of Kenya Airways management left us with no other option,” Murithi Nyagah said, hoping that “the airline’s management would soften its stance and enter into negotiations on the issues raised.”
On Monday, the airline had obtained a court injunction prohibiting the strike, but an official from KALPA, which has 400 members, told AFP that the pilots were “acting within the law”.
Kenya Airways has estimated its losses at $2.5 million a day if the strike continues.
The airline was founded in 1977 after the demise of East African Airways. It carries more than four million passengers to 42 destinations per year.
© 2022 AFP
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