Kenya Airport Strike Disrupts Flights

Nairobi: 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, disrupting flights at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Queues of passengers were outside the airport on Wednesday, some sitting on their luggage, and there were lines of cars trying to access the area, AFP reporters said.

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.

Kenya Airways warned of delays and possible cancellations of flights for both departing and arriving passengers.

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.

The Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Human Rights Commission won a delay on the deal from the High Court on Monday, arguing that it lacked "transparency".

Kenya's government has defended the plan as necessary to refurbish JKIA.

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 Airport Authority.

MENAFN11092024000063011010ID1108660724