Jambojet Announces Grounding of JKIA Flights Amid Airport Workers’ Strike
Key takeaways
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- Chaos has erupted at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport following the start of the anticipated workers’ strike at midnight on Wednesday.
- Crowds of protesting workers waded through queues of stranded passengers as they voiced their opposition to Adani Group’s takeover of the airport.
- Adani Group, an Indian business conglomerate is gearing up to take over East Africa’s busiest airport in early November.
- Many airlines have been affected as no flights have taken off or landed in over 10 hours.
Also read: JKIA at a Standstill as Workers Protest Against Adani Group Takeover
Jambojet Suspends JKIA Operations as Airport Workers’ Strike Begins
Leading domestic flight operator Jambojet has announced that all flights in and out of the JKIA have been put on hold.
In a Wednesday morning statement to its clients, Jambojet attributed its decision to the escalating disruptions at the Nairobi-based airport.
“Jambojet wishes to notify guests of flight disruptions due to the ongoing strike by airport workers. All our flights, scheduled to land or take off from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are hereby put on hold until further notice,” said the operator.
Striking airport workers were confronted by the General Service Unit (GSU) contingent deployed at the airport. Some of the workers have already been arrested.
Other bigger airlines including Kenya Airways have also issued advisory statements to customers following the intense industrial action at JKIA.
With no operators in critical airport infrastructure including the control tower, flights approaching JKIA have been rerouted to other regional airports.
Also read: Top 5 airlines operating at JKIA
JKIA workers rally against imminent takeover of the airport by Adani Group
The cause of the stalemate is a controversial deal between the Kenya government and the Indian Adani Group paving the way for the group’s takeover of the crucial facility.
Adani Group is set to take over, operate, maintain, design, develop, modernize, and manage the country’s Airports.
To carry out its operations in Kenya, Adani Group has established a new company named Airports Infrastructure PLC.
According to the protesting workers, Adani Group is set to bring foreign workers into Kenya’s airports under the guise of modernizing operations.
“We are protecting our airport. Adani must go!” protestors chanted as they demonstrated within the Airport grounds.
