Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded after aviation workers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) downed their tools on Wednesday.
The striking staff at JKIA have blamed the management of unfair staff hiring and compensation as well as the proposed takeover of the airport by Kenya Airways.
Since 3 am on Wednesday, no plane has landed or taken off from JKIA with passengers left without any communication. A plane belonging to Rwanda Air was supposed to pick up passengers but left empty with no one on board.
Some main entry points to the airport have been closed by workers despite heavy deployment of police officers. There are also no fire engines on some runways with planes that were supposed to leave this morning remaining grounded.
The workers are demanding the removal in the office of the Kenya Airports Authority Chief Executive Johnny Andersen and chairman of the board Isaac Awuondo as well as their counterparts at Kenya Airways.
The workers at JKIA are also questioning how KQ’s CEO Sebastian Mikosz, the board chairman Michael Joseph and a team of managers and consultants were paid 1.3 billion shillings in 18 months.