Kenya Airways was forced to cancel 75% of its flights on Monday due to the ongoing pilots’ strike, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
After failing to come to an agreement in negotiations with management over better working conditions, members of the Kenya Pilots’ Association started their industrial action on Saturday, in defiance of a court order suspending it.
Their requests include the corporation paying salaries owed from the Covid-19 epidemic era and easing a hold on payments to the personnel provident fund.
The second-largest airline in Africa having to cancel flights has a significant impact on travel throughout the continent. While some travelers have been successful in locating alternate flights, others have not been as fortunate.
‘The government of Kenya is doing nothing about it to make sure that people go back to their homes. There are people who have work to do and now we are stuck here. Like four days, it’s a long time,’ says South African, Martha Magumbu.
Others, like Ifebusola Shotunde, are disappointed as the alternative flights they have been offered have substantially increased their travel time.
‘I was supposed to go home today from Nairobi to Lagos, but due to the strike they have postponed our flight to 4:30 am tomorrow. Now I need to think about what I am going to do tonight and also the plans I made back at home,’ he says.
The strike is making matters worse for the struggling national carrier, which has been losing money despite the government pouring millions of dollars into it to keep it viable for years.
Additionally, as the airline often sends 150 tonnes or more of fresh food to Europe and the Middle East, it is anticipated to have a severe effect on Kenya’s exports.
