PILOTS UNION FACES CONTEMPT OF COURT CHARGES
(Posted 28th April 2016)
The agreement signed yesterday by Kenya Airways and the pilots union KALPA, under the watchful eyes of the Kenyan Attorney General and the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, proved to be no more than a ruse by the pilot union’s ringleaders to mislead the government, Board and management of the airline and the public at large.
Even though Kenya Airways had obtained a preventative prohibition order of any form of strike, sick calls or other methods to down their tools, did Kenya Airways pilots exactly that, setting them on a collision course with the judiciary over contempt of court.
This development was almost foreseeable, given KALPA’s militant and aggressive nature, as after all they had ignored court orders before in open defiance of the country’s legal system. Then, as now, do they stand exposed as lawbreakers, purporting to be above the law and acting like spoiled boy brats.
‘I told you before, these guys cannot be trusted. They are a fifth column in this country and we all feel they need to be decisively dealt with in court and by government. Their action amounts to economic sabotage and they should be held fully liable for the damages they caused with their sudden strike. They should be taken to the cleaners for every penny the organisation and the individuals running it own. You might diplomatically call it misleading but I have a three letter word for what they did and I am suggesting they did it with intent the moment they put pen to paper yesterday‘ ranted a regular aviation source in a phone call earlier in the evening, with similar comments received from other Kenyan sources soon after landing from the Seychelles, when chaos began to hit operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Kenya Airways promptly rolled out emergency measures to deal with stranded clients and issued the following statement:
Start quote:
KENYA AIRWAYS STATEMENT ON PILOT DISRUPTIONS
28th April 2016
7.00PM
Further to our earlier update, following the all day flight disruptions that have caused inconveniences to our guests, we regret to announce that we have cancelled all flights operating up until 0200 East Africa Time except KQ 618 to Mombasa departing Nairobi at 2130 and KQ 619 departing Mombasa at 2310 East Africa Time .
We are still consulting and negotiating with our pilot fraternity that is a vital part of our business and we hope to have an amicable agreement soon.
In the meantime we are advising our guests on the mitigating measures for the cancelled flights. We request that you bear with us as we work to normalize our operations and we will keep updating you on our progress.
We would like to assure you that as the national carrier we are committed to serving you with pride.
Please call our 24HR Contact Center: +254 20 327 4747 for further information or visit our website www.kenya-airways.com for to check the status of your flight.
End quote.
Earlier in the afternoon had the airline talked of ten affected flights, before the wildcat strike action then affected all operations.
Start quote:
KQ Statement on Flight Disruption
28 April 2016
4.40 pm
Further to our earlier update, we have been experiencing some flight disruptions since this morning and that has cause inconveniences to our guests. This is highly regretted and we are working to reduce these disruptions.
Our pilot fraternity is a vital part of our business and we are working together to resolve any outstanding issues.
We are currently experiencing delays and cancellation of ten flights to various destinations in our network and we are advising our guests on the mitigating measures. We request that you bear with us as we work to normalize our operations and we will keep you updated.
We would like to assure you that as the national carrier we are committed to serving you with pride
End quote
And in news just in has Kenya Airways confirmed that they are confident a full schedule will resume at 06.00 am in the morning:
KENYA AIRWAYS STATEMENT – FLIGHTS RETURN TO NORMAL.
KENYA AIRWAYS·THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016
28th April 2016
9.56PM
Kenya Airways would like to announce that our flight schedule will return to normalcy from tomorrow morning at 0600hrs; following all day flight disruptions that have caused inconvenience to our guests.
We are currently in the schedule re-planning phase after our pilots withdrew their industrial action that paralyzed operations at our hub in JKIA Nairobi.
In the meantime we are advising all guests to ensure they check on their flights prior to departure through our website or 24HR Contact Centre. We will continue to give you regular updates via our social media pages.
We wish to thank our guests for their patience and understanding today and assure that we are committed to serving you and restoring your confidence in our airline.
Please call our 24HR Contact Center: +254 20 327 4747 for further information or visit our website www.kenya-airways.com to check the status of your flight.
Twitter:@KenyaAirways
Facebook: KenyaAirways
Rumours spread by trouble makers, that the top management of Kenya
Airways had resigned, a key demand by the union agitators, also proved
without foundation as Mr. Mbuvi Ngunze and his team are very much in
place and continue to work towards a financial turnaround for the airline
under what is called ‘Operation Pride‘.
Sources close to the airline have also suggested that lawyers for the company will tomorrow morning complain to court about the strike prohibition order being ignored by union hot heads and to have the court rule on what punitive measures should be taken to ensure that such blatant disregard will not happen again in the future.
As usual, watch this space for additional updates, as and when available.
