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A strike by Kenya Airways pilots led to dozens of flights being cancelled, affecting 1000’s of passengers.
The airline has confronted years of losses and pilots are putting over retirement funds and the fee of all salaries stopped through the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pilots introduced the strike in defiance of a courtroom order towards industrial motion and gave no indication of how lengthy it’ll final.
Common Secretary of the Kenya Alliance Pilots Affiliation (KALPA), Murithi Nyagah, they’d tried to barter with the airline.
“We labored tirelessly all through final night time and shared our revised proposals with Kenya Airways administration,” he stated. “Till now, we’re but to listen to again from them. This as soon as once more demonstrates that it’s Kenya Airways administration’s failure that has gotten us up to now.”
Kenya Airways is collectively owned by the Kenyan authorities and Air France-KLM and earlier warned the strike would jeopardise its restoration, estimating losses at $2.5 million per day if the motion befell.
Transport Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, urged the strikers have been being unreasonable.
“We respect the views and the issues of the pilots,” he stated. “We consider they went about it the fallacious means and the corporate and the federal government of Kenya is keen to take heed to the problems they’re elevating.”
Offended passengers described large queues at airports, with many solely studying their flights have been cancelled after they arrived to examine in.
Amongst them was Chief Working Officer, Mobex Africa, Alain Gbeasor, who complained in regards to the lack of communication.
“I believe that the least respectful factor KQ [Kenya Airlines] may have carried out to its passengers was to a minimum of ship us an e mail to inform us of this,” he stated.
“I checked out of my resort room, I get to the airport and all they do is brandish this paper in entrance of me, I name again to the resort and there’s no lodging and I’ve been standing right here for 3 hours. Is that how you’re employed on this nation?”
The Kenya Airline Pilots Affiliation stated no Kenya Airways flight flown by its members had departed Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Worldwide Airport from early on Saturday.
