JKIA grinds to a halt leaving passengers stranded

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A huge number of passengers in various airports across the country were left stranded as the aviation workers' strike entered its second day on Monday. At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport JKIA, the situation was dire.

The airport played host to several passengers who were affected on Sunday. Some were forced to seek shelter in the Java spots, while others at the hotels inside the airport. Those who did not have extra cash to spare had to find alternative places to shelter from the night rain.

Isaac Kamau's flight to Japan via Abu Dhabi on Sunday was to depart at 1:35 pm, but he was left stranded, forcing him to go back to Kiambu.

"I came here(JKIA) at around 10 am, we spent the whole day here until 3 pm. After we were told that our flight had been rescheduled to today, I went home." Kamau said. His flight was rescheduled to Monday at 11:15 am but this was also cancelled.

Several passengers who were streaming into the airport in the morning for flights scheduled for Monday expressed uncertainty about the status of their flights.

Nekesa Nekesa was supposed to travel to Saudi Arabia at 5:30 pm but she told The Standard that she was informed that her flight had been postponed.

"I was to travel at 5 pm but I've been told I would leave at 10pm. I'm not sure if that's true or it would be cancelled because it is hearsay," she said, adding that she would be forced to spend the night at the airport since she had travelled from Western Kenya.

Passengers scheduled to travel on Sunday on Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines had received communication on Monday morning that they would depart at 4pm.  At 2pm, they were allowed to begin checking into the lounge to learn the fate of their flights.

For Emirates Airline, an official from the airline addressed passengers at around 12:50 pm. He confirmed that there would be a delay but the flights remained on schedule, subject to communication from authorities.

For other airlines, there was little or no communication. Passengers travelling from  Nairobi to China using Gulf Air told the Standard that their flights were rescheduled to Wednesday.

As of 3 pm, some of the passengers had resigned to fate and decided to seek alternative places to spend the night. Affected passengers complained of the extra costs they incurred courtesy of the delays.

"We are being told to wait, but we don't know for how long. We are asking them, now that we have left hotels, will they book for us. My cost of staying here has increased, and no one will refund me," said Phillip Freedom, a tourist whose flight back to Tanzania was cancelled on Monday.

Operations were deeply affected, with just a few workers seen around. The Standard established that a majority of unionisable officials were the ones on strike.

By yesterday's close of business, talks between the union, the Ministry of Transport, and COTU were still ongoing, with parties expressing optimism that a solution will be reached to allow resumption of operations at Kenya’s airports.