Categories: Africa

CS Murkomen: Over 10,000 KQ Travellers Are Stranded

A Kenya Airways employee pulls his flight luggage during a strike by Kenya Airways pilots organized by the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Over 10,000 passengers were impacted by the Kenya Airways pilot’s strike, according to Kipchumba Murkomen, cabinet secretary for transport and roads.

According to him, several of the stranded passengers had connection planes in Nairobi to take them to their respective destinations. About 10,000 people have been impacted thus far, and we are hopeful that a decision will be made as soon as possible, the CS stated. When he visited the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday morning to gauge the effect of the KQ pilots, he spoke.

The government-declared unlawful strike began early on Saturday morning, crippling KQ operations. He disclosed that KQ had made reservations at the majority of the city’s hotels to accommodate inconvenienced travelers.

The CS said that the pilots were out to undermine President William Ruto’s administration during a media conference on Saturday, November 5. The strike, according to Murkomen, is unjustified because they work for an airline, not the government.

“KQ has a human resource manual that outlines how to deal with employees, but the Constitution and labor regulations also provide guidance on how to handle this scenario, particularly when a strike is illegal. It is up to KQ to make that choice on its own behalf.” Murkomen tacked on.

Other travelers claimed on Saturday that the night before had been chaotic as people tried to travel before the strike began. They said that hundreds of transit passengers were stuck in the airport because their connection aircraft did not take off.

After a 14-day warning period had elapsed without the airline’s management resolving their complaints, the pilots union had threatened to initiate a strike over a disagreement regarding pension contributions and the settlement of delayed pay for its members.

The pilots union was urged not to proceed with the industrial action by transport minister Kipchumba Murkomen during last-minute negotiations to prevent a strike. According to the airline, Kenya Airways, one of Africa’s busiest carriers, carried more than 8,000 passengers per day in the first half of this year.