Kenya : More than two dozen flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded as pilots at Kenya Airways, one of Africa’s biggest carriers, began a strike on Saturday, despite the government urging them to call it off.
The strike that began at 6am will affect thousands of business and leisure travellers at one of Africa’s most important aviation hubs.
The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) said the carrier’s management declined to listen to their proposals on how to resolve their grievances.
“No KQ [Kenya Airways] aircraft has departed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport flown by a Kalpa member from 6am this morning,” the union said. “The strike is fully in force.”
The national carrier’s chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka said pilots had been issued a 24-hour return-to-work ultimatum, after which they will be considered to have absconded from duty.
