Following a week-long protest by Kenya Airways pilots that resulted in scores of flights being cancelled and thousands of customers being left stranded, a Nairobi court has ordered the pilots to report back to work by Wednesday am.
The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi was the scene of the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) strike on Saturday, defying a court ruling imposed last week prohibiting the industrial action.
Tuesday, Justice Anna Mwaure issued an injunction requiring the Kenya Airways pilots to “unconditionally” resume their responsibilities as pilots by 6:00 am on November 9, 2022.
The walkout has exacerbated the woes facing the troubled national carrier, which has been running losses for years, despite the government pumping in millions of dollars to keep it afloat.
There was no immediate response from KALPA to the court order, which came as the airline announced that most of its flights had been cancelled due to the strike.
The carrier on Monday announced that it was ending its recognition of the union and withdrawing from their collective bargaining deal, accusing KALPA of “exposing the airline to irreparable damage”.
Mwaure said the court would now consider the issue and ordered the airline’s management to allow the pilots “to perform their duties without harassing them or intimidating them and especially by not taking any disciplinary action against any of them”.
Kenya Airways, which is part owned by the government as well as Air France-KLM, is one of the biggest in Africa, connecting multiple countries to Europe and Asia.
On Sunday, the airline said 56 flights had been cancelled due to the strike, disrupting 12,000 passengers’ plans.
The protesting pilots, who make up 10 percent of the workforce, are pressing for the reinstatement of contributions to a provident fund and payment of all salaries stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The carrier has warned that the strike would jeopardise its recovery, estimating losses at $2.5 million per day.