(Bloomberg) -- Several flights were disrupted and hundreds of passengers left stranded after Kenyan aviation workers began a strike to protest plans for Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. to take over operations of the nation’s biggest airport for 30 years.
Hundreds of passengers milled around terminal buildings at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday awaiting updates on their flights. Kenya Airways Plc alerted customers to possible cancellations, while its low-cost carrier Jambojet said all of its takeoffs and landings at the airport are on hold until further notice.
The industrial action is the latest problem to beset President William Ruto’s government. Street protests across the country in June and July against the administration’s plans to introduce wide-ranging tax measures resulted in the death of more than 60 people.
“The growing public resistance to government policies highlights the administration’s struggle to gain widespread support for its policies and reform agenda,” BancTrust & Co. said in an emailed note.
A Kenyan court this week issued an order suspending implementation of the privately initiated proposal by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s firm until it rules on the matter.
The objective of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union strike is to stop the government from handing over the regional hub to Adani and to resolve long-standing disputes relating to collective-bargaining agreements, Secretary-General Moss Ndiema said Wednesday.
“If the two things are addressed, then the strike ends immediately,” Ndiema said by phone. About 10,000 of the union’s 16,000 members are based at JKIA.
The state-run Kenya Airports Authority, which manages all airports in the East African nation, said the strike was in violation of the court order. More than 40 passenger airlines and 25 cargo carriers use JKIA, according to the agency.
Last year 8.21 million passengers used JKIA, accounting for two-thirds of air travelers in the nation, according to Kenya’s statistics agency.
Under the terms of the build-operate deal, Adani’s company will upgrade Kenya’s busiest airport, construct a second runway and a new passenger terminal. The government has defended the deal, insisting that the facility is stretched beyond capacity and in urgent need of improvement.
--With assistance from David Herbling.
(Updates with analyst comment in fifth paragraph.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.