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The Kenya Aviation Workers’ Union launched a nationwide go-slow on Sunday after government-brokered talks collapsed without resolving a series of labour grievances, according to Reuters. Union secretary general Moss Ndiema stated that a July framework agreement had not been honoured by the Kenya Airports Authority, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority or Jambojet, prompting the union to lift its earlier suspension of industrial action. Negotiations between the parties resumed on Monday even as flight operations at the country’s busiest airports remained severely curtailed.
Hundreds of passengers spent the night in check-in halls at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while awaiting updates from carriers, Reuters reported. Kenya Airways said the industrial action by air traffic control workers had produced delays exceeding six hours and forced cancellation of some services, leading the airline to offer penalty-free rescheduling for affected travellers. RwandAir separately cancelled two flights, citing operational constraints at the Nairobi hub, while Mendel Goldman, who had been waiting 12 hours for a connection to Florida, told Reuters, “The earliest flight they can get us is only tomorrow night, so we’ve got to wait.”
The strike has raised alarms beyond passenger travel, with the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya warning that prolonged disruption at the airport could erode the country’s standing in global markets for perishable goods. Consortium officials noted that flowers, fruits, vegetables, meat and other time-sensitive exports risked missing connections or spoiling in transit, potentially triggering cancelled orders from overseas buyers. A representative stressed that Kenya cannot afford to be viewed as an unreliable logistics partner through its primary international gateway.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled roughly nine million passengers last year and functions as an essential regional hub connecting East Africa to international destinations, according to Kenyan authorities. Reports indicated that only about 30 percent of scheduled departures had cleared by mid-afternoon on the first full day of the action, while more than 500 travellers were left stranded at Moi International Airport in Mombasa with almost no flights operating. The Kenya Airports Authority advised passengers to verify status directly with airlines as it coordinated with stakeholders to limit further inconvenience.
This latest dispute follows a similar two-day strike by the same union in February that halted operations across key facilities before a negotiated return to work, a Business Daily assessment found. During that earlier episode one low-cost carrier operated just 23 of 64 scheduled return flights, affecting around 5,000 passengers and driving up fuel and maintenance costs for delayed aircraft that remained idle on the ground. The recurring actions underscore persistent tensions over backdated salaries, employee welfare, union recognition and collective bargaining within Kenya’s aviation sector.
Union officials have maintained that members will not resume normal duties until employers provide binding commitments on all outstanding issues. William Obino, a 22-year-old traveller, told AFP that updates were arriving late and the situation was ruining planned itineraries. As discussions continued into Monday evening, affected passengers continued seeking alternative arrangements or hotel transfers arranged by several carriers.
