Kenya aviation workers go on strike

Workers at Kenya’s main international airport had a day-long strike on the 11th of September. The strike was triggered by plans to lease the airport to an Indian company called Adani Group. The 30-year lease would have seen an estimated $1.85 billion being invested in Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with plans for a new terminal, runway, and taxiway by 2029, as well as vast airport upgrades by 2035.

The members of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union oppose this deal, with their main concerns revolving around potential job losses due to the agreement with Adani Group. The president of the Law Society of Kenya argues that the deal is unaffordable, threatens job losses, exposes the public disproportionately to fiscal risk, and offers no value for money to the taxpayer and that Kenya could raise the necessary funds to expand the airport without resorting to a long-term lease. Despite all this, the Kenyan government did not exclusively deny the deal, highlighting the urgent need for improvements at the airport due to its current capacity issues and old terminals. The Kenyan government mentioned that the airport is operating above capacity and needs upgrading, but, it is not for sale, and no decision has been made on whether to proceed with what it calls a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the airport.

After a day of striking, the workers union wrote on X that a return to work agreement had been signed and the union’s secretary general Moss Ndiema told journalists and workers that the union would be involved in every discussion moving forward. The day-long strike caused havoc at the main international airport in Kenya. Many flights were canceled and delays of up to 10 hours were common for flights not cancelled. The strike didn’t just affect Kenya Airways only. International airlines operating at the airport such as British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and KLM, amongst others all had to cancel flights to Kenya. It will be interesting to see how the Kenyan government and the workers union will move forward with the airport upgrades because the airport is in desperate need of some upgrades.