Kenya Airways pilots’ strike set to end after 4 days
Nov 8, 2022, 9:18 AM | Updated: Nov 9, 2022, 12:00 am
A man waits with his luggage at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. Pilots working for Kenya's national airline Kenya Airways have been on strike for three days over a demand to honor a retirement savings plan, and it is estimated to be costing millions of dollars in losses daily. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
(AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Pilots working for Kenya’s national airline are set to resume work on Wednesday after a court ordered them to end their four-day strike.
The court on Tuesday also ordered Kenya Airways not to intimidate pilots who participated in the strike called by their union following the failure to resolve a dispute over a retirement savings fund.
Kenya Airways has been on a recovery path after suffering losses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and had said it could not afford to pay into the fund.
The airline had threatened disciplinary action against striking pilots and even advertised vacancies. The airline estimated daily losses to be $2.4 million.
Kenya Airways on Tuesday welcomed the court ruling and assured its customers that it would “do everything possible to return to normalcy in the shortest time possible.”
The pilots union also asked its almost 400 members to do everything possible to restore normalcy.
Scheduled flights are expected to operate normally on Wednesday.
The stalemate affected thousands of travelers. Dozens of flights had been canceled and fresh produce, including flowers for Europe, was left rotting at the Nairobi airport.
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