Reportage
Kenya Airways pilots strike: Passengers grow impatient, government threatens
Audio 01:17
Many flights canceled at Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi, November 5, 2022. © Thomas Mukoya / REUTERS
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Second day of strike Sunday for Kenya Airways pilots.
56 planes remained grounded and 12,000 passengers were affected, according to the company.
500 of them were accommodated in hotels.
The pilots' union is maintaining the strike until their demands are heard and they have warned that the public should expect flight cancellations to continue.
They demand, among other things, the return of the company's contribution to their pension fund, suspended at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi,
Albane Thirouard
For the second day of the strike, Kenya Airways has set up a tent at the airport to accommodate passengers whose flights have been cancelled.
Joel has been waiting for several hours to get his hotel reservation.
This Burundian was to take off for Bujumbura at four o'clock in the morning on Sunday.
He found out about the cancellation of his flight at the airport.
“
They booked me another Rwanda Air flight for tomorrow, but they didn't tell me, they even sent me a check-in email
!
There should be a minimum of communication, because we give them our money,
complains Joel.
We expect at least the minimum of respect from them.
And then, there weren't enough people to explain the situation, people were all frustrated, really… zero reception
!
»
A few seats further, Hélène also does not hide her anger.
This Belgian had to leave for Kinshasa: “
They are going to put us in hotels, okay, but what I need to know is
:
is there a flight tomorrow and at what time
?
It's up to them to find a solution, to put us back on another flight.
I am going for a week-long conference in Kinshasa and I speak at the conference on Tuesday.
I need to know, I need to let the people at the conference know if I won't be there.
But there is no info.
»
Losses estimated at $2.5 million per day
On the side of Kenya Airways and the pilots' union, we say we are ready to negotiate.
But several attempts have already failed.
The two parties accuse each other of creating an impasse by refusing any compromise.
Kenya Airways even calls the strike illegal, as the strikers had received a court injunction not to take action.
Kenya Airways CEO calls on strikers to return to work.
Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen also went so far as to threaten them with disciplinary measures if they did not end their action.
The financial consequences promise to be significant for the airline, which estimates its losses at 2.5 million dollars per day of the strike.
►Also read: Pilot strike grounded Kenya Airways planes
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Kenya
Aeronautics
Transportation