Nairobi – Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at Kenya’s main airport on Wednesday as staff went on strike over a planned takeover by an Indian company.
The walk-out by the Kenyan Aviation Workers Union began at midnight, severely disrupting flights at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Long queues of passengers were outside the airport and there were lines of cars trying to access the area, AFP reporters said.
Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) staff went on strike demanding the resignation of the KAA board and security officials. The protest has halted all flights at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), with the airport’s potential takeover by the Adani Group also contributing to… pic.twitter.com/wqFuxuEVFC
— CGTN Africa (@cgtnafrica) September 11, 2024
The union said the strike would continue until the government scrapped a plan to lease the airport to India’s Adani Group for 30 years in exchange for a $1.85-billion investment.
“The strike is on and all shifts have been suspended,” union leader Moses Ndiema told workers at the airport.
“Adani must go, that is not optional,” he said.
The Kenya Airports Authority said “minimal operations” had resumed at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) but data from Flight Radar showed long delays and several cancellations for flights in and out of the airport.
‘We’ve not slept’
Critics say the plan to lease JKIA to Adani will lead to job losses for local staff and rob taxpayers of future airport profits.
Freight and passenger fees from the airport account for more than five percent of Kenya’s GDP.
One stranded passenger, Elvis Mushengu, told AFP he had been waiting through the night.
“They closed the doors at around 12 (midnight),” he said. “We don’t know who’s doing the screening or what the procedure is… We’ve not slept, we’re just tired.”
Kenya’s government has defended the Adani deal as necessary to refurbish JKIA.
#UPDATE: Kenya Aviation regulator KCAA issues notice to pilots advising that all flights departing from and arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are experiencing delays due to an airport workers’ strike.
Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) officials are… pic.twitter.com/cl5dLP1Grj
— The Citizen Tanzania (@TheCitizenTz) September 11, 2024
It is one of Africa’s busiest hubs, handling 8.8 million passengers and 380,000 tonnes of cargo in 2022-23, but is often hit by power outages and leaking roofs.
Adani would add a second runway and upgrade the passenger terminal, according to the Kenya Airports Authority.
Tourism is a major contributor to the Kenyan economy, accounting for more than 10 percent of GDP in 2022, according to the government.
The Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Human Rights Commission won a delay on the Adani deal from the High Court on Monday, arguing that it lacked “transparency”.
A date for a final court verdict on the deal has yet to be set.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@WaihigaMwaura
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