Kenya Airways planes grounded at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta airport on November 5, 2022, due to a pilots’ strike (AFP/Simon MAINA)
Kenya Airways pilots began their second day of strike action on Sunday, leading to further flight cancellations as the company threatens to take disciplinary action against the strikers.
Some 9,000 passengers were grounded following this movement triggered by the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA), which has 400 members.
KALPA said no Kenya Airways flight operated by its pilots had left Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport since 0600 (0300 GMT) on Saturday.
The pilots, who are demanding an improvement in their working conditions, announced the strike despite a court injunction and gave no indication of the duration of their movement.
On Saturday, the airline’s CEO, Allan Kilavuka, had urged the striking pilots, who make up 10% of KA’s workforce, to return to work on Sunday morning.
“If you fail to do so, immediate disciplinary action will be taken,” he warned.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) has warned that ground staff will also go on strike on Saturday afternoon over a dispute with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) over wage claims.
But KAA said on Saturday evening that “ground staff are in full working order and operations at all of our airports are normal.”
“I arrived here around 5:25 am (…) but I was informed of the cancellation of my flight”, complained to the channel Citizen TV a passenger, Erick Muhanda, who was to go to Africa from South.
Kenya Airways, owned by the state and the Air France-KLM group, is one of the largest airlines in Africa, connecting several countries to Europe and Asia. For several years, she has been facing heavy losses.
Kenya Airways has estimated its losses at $2.5 million a day if the strike continues.
In August, KA announced a half-year loss of $81.5 million due to high fuel costs, despite the Kenyan government injecting some $520 million to keep it afloat.
The airline was founded in 1977 after the demise of East African Airways. It carries more than four million passengers to 42 destinations each year.
© 2022 AFP
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