At least 10 Kenya Airways flights were cancelled yesterday while several others were delayed following a strike by the airline's pilots despite a court order and pleas by the management.
The pilots instead assembled at at their Rubani House headquarters along Nairobi's North Airport Road, and held a series of meetings including one with Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia and KQ chairman Dennis Awori.
"We have been experiencing some flight disruptions since this morning and that has caused inconveniences to our guests. This is highly regretted and we are working to reduce these disruptions," said KQ in a statement.
"We are currently experiencing delays and cancellation of 10 flights to various destinations in our network, and we are advising our guests on the mitigating measures. We request you bear with us as we work to normalise our operations and we will keep you updated."
On Wednesday, the airline obtained a court order to stop the strike and also held a meeting with the pilots union, Kenya Airline Pilots Association, in a bid to avert the strike.
After signing an agreement with the airline's management, sources said, pilots were furious with Kalpa directors, prompting them to hold another meeting late into the night with their KQ members. It is at this night meeting the union decided to go ahead with the strike as the pilots were adamant to work yesterday until their demands were met.
"I call upon all of you to be at Rubani House in full uniform at 10am tomorrow morning – April 28, 2016," states a circular sent out by Kalpa on Wednesday night. It was signed by secretary general Paul Gichinga.
By last evening, the pilots were still holed up in meetings at Rubani House as journalists camped outside for updates. KQ and its pilots have been at loggerheads for the last few years, but the problem peaked when the airline started selling some of its assets few months ago, including Boeing 777 planes, rendering some of them idle.
Pilots have accused the management of the airline of sacrificing employees each time it sinks into a financial hole, instead of exploring "better" options such as good route management and strategic expansions. KQ has accused the pilots of acting in bad faith, for announcing the strike through the media without first serving the management with the notice.
