A labour strike that disrupted flights in and out of Kenya's airports has ended on its second day, after the union and the government "agreed on an immediate return to work."
- •The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) had called for the strike to protest unresolved pay and working-condition disputes, citing that KCAA had failed to resolve their concerns for over seven years.
- •Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Kenya's busiest airport, handles the majority of the country’s cargo exports and imports including perishable goods such as flowers and horticultural products, meaning delays can ripple through supply chains and affect revenues for exporters.
- •Tourism, a key source of foreign exchange, also took an immediate hit as travelers were left stranded and flights canceled.
Officials at the Kenya Airports Authority said contingency measures had been implemented, but the full scope of the impact on cargo movements and in-bound tourism was still being assessed. In December 2025, JKIA handled 313,944 passengers, with arrivals surging 16.5%.
Since Monday, Kenya Airways and other regional carriers had reported operational disruptions due to air traffic control delays. The airline said it is coordinating with the KCAA and other airport stakeholders to limit passenger impact while maintaining safety.
“We are experiencing delays of up to four (4) hours for departures out of JKIA and have adjusted our network accordingly. We sincerely regret the inconvenience and are working closely with the relevant aviation authorities and airport stakeholders to minimise the impact on our customers and maintain safe operations,” Kenya Airways said in a statement.
“Following a statement issued by the Kenya Airports Authority regarding ongoing operational disruptions at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), RwandAir advises passengers that some flights departing & arriving in Nairobi may be affected,” RwandAir said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jambojet advised passengers not to travel to JKIA without confirmed flight status amid disruptions linked to the industrial action. The carrier said delays from Monday’s air traffic control stoppage were still being cleared as of Tuesday and that several flights across its network were affected while the airline worked to resolve the backlog.
In its own statement, KCAA said recovery efforts at JKIA are underway, with passenger backlogs being cleared and normal flight schedules expected to "resume soon."
Strikes in the aviation sector are not unique to Kenya and have been a growing source of disruption globally. In Germany, coordinated strikes by pilot and cabin‑crew unions at Lufthansa and walkouts by ground and airport staff in early 2026 led to widespread cancellations and delays at major hubs such as Frankfurt and Munich, grounding flights across the network in disputes over pay and benefits.
Strikes by French air‑traffic controllers in mid‑2025 and similar actions in Italy and Belgium disrupted flights at Paris, Rome, Milan, and Brussels, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers and highlighting persistent labour tensions.
In Kenya, where the sector is tightly concentrated, the effects are magnified, leaving thousands of passengers waiting in terminals for hours. While these disruptions are temporary, they can erode investor confidence and complicate Kenya’s ambitions to expand its status as a regional air transport and logistics hub.
