(Posted 04th November 2022)
Notwithstanding a court injunction to halt strike action has KALPA, the Kenya Airline Pilots Association apparently decided that a strike will go ahead regardless.
It was learned from an aviation source in Nairobi that effective tomorrow morning, 05th November at 06.00 hrs local time, pilots will commence a strike.
This has prompted Kenya Airways to issue the following statement:
‘Kenya Airways notes that the Kenya Airlines Pilot Association (“KALPA”) has today
announced that they will go ahead with the unlawful industrial action effective tomorrow,
Saturday, 5th November 2022, from 06:00 hours.
This unfortunate action may affect both our passengers, who may not travel, and our cargo
customers, whose exports will be affected. It will greatly inconvenience travelers for business,
medical, leisure, and those connecting with their loved ones. This could also lead to huge losses
to farmers whose perishable goods are due for export.
The intended unlawful industrial action negates the strides KQ has made this year in improving
its financial position following the COVID pandemic that affected the economy. It is also counterproductive to the Government of Kenya’s efforts to revive our economy and detracts from
current efforts to ameliorate the extremely needy cases of Kenyans suffering from the effects of
severe drought. This strike is therefore an unwelcome distraction.
We are willing and ready to engage with KALPA within the confines of their mandate in an open
negotiation to find practical and lasting solutions.
We cannot overstate the severe economic impact of this action on different sectors and the
entire ecosystem reliant on KQ. At a minimum, the unlawful industrial action will cost KQ
approximately KES 300M a day, translating to KES 2.1Bn in one week.
We reiterate that the industrial action is unlawful, ill-timed, and unnecessary at this point as it
will delay and disrupt the ability of KQ to recover and eventually get the airline back to meeting
all its obligations.
We encourage those guests travelling within the next 48 hours to contact the KQ Customer
Excellence Centre at Customer.Relations@kenya-airways.com or call +254 711 024 747 or +254
734 104 747 and on WhatsApp +254 705 474 747 or their travel agent for assistance.’
It is understood that travelers from Uganda to Kenya have taken swift measures and booked alternative flights on Uganda Airlines as have travelers from other countries across Eastern Africa, shifting bookings to their national carriers.
ATCNews will monitor the situation overnight to see if indeed the strike is going ahead and then update readers on the situation.
