More than 10,000 passengers were stranded as
The strike called by the
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has termed the strike as "illegal" an act of "economic sabotage."
"I visited the JKIA and was saddened to learn that so far, over 15 flights have been canceled and 10,000 passengers stranded," he said after visiting
"I have been briefed by the
The airline, partly owned by the government and
"The strike is fully in force," KALPA union secretary general Murithi Nyagah said in a statement released on Saturday.
The pilots announced the strike in defiance of a court order against the industrial action and have given no indication of how long it will last.
Frustrated passengers described huge queues at the airport, with many travellers only learning about their cancelled flights when they showed up to check-in.
"We have been told nothing," American tourist
The 65-year-old had booked a safari in
"Many people here have nowhere to go. It's pretty horrible."
The pilots, who have had a particularly fraught relationship with management, are pressing for the reinstatement of contributions to a provident fund.
They also want back payment of all salaries stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic.
KALPA representatives said Friday that a series of meetings with airline management had failed to resolve grievances.
"
"We had hoped that the management of the airline would soften its stance and engage in negotiation on the issues raised."
On Monday, the airline won a court injunction stopping the strike, but an official at KALPA, which has 400 members, told AFP the pilots "were acting within the provisions of the law" and that they were yet to be served with a court order.
The carrier warned earlier this week that the strike would jeopardise its recovery, estimating losses at
The airline was founded in 1977 following the demise of
But its slogan "The Pride of
Like other carriers around the world,
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