Kenya Airlines Pilots Return to Work After Four Days of Strike

Over 12,000 Customers Affected by Strike... Over 300 Flight Schedules Canceled

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Junran] Kenya Airways (KQ) pilots have reportedly ended their four-day strike and returned to work.

According to local media including the daily newspaper Daily Nation on the 9th (local time), the Kenya Employment and Labor Relations Court ruled the strike illegal the day before and ordered the pilots to return to work. Accordingly, the Kenya Air Line Pilots Association (KALPA) issued a statement following the court order declaring the end of the strike. Pilots were urged to resume work by 6 a.m. on the 9th.

Earlier, the association had demanded payment of pilots' retirement savings and overdue wages, and launched the strike starting at 6 a.m. on the 5th. In response, the airline stated that the strike was illegal as it had already received a court injunction banning it, and took a tough stance by posting pilot recruitment advertisements. The company, which has been operating at a loss for several years, is estimated to have suffered losses of $2.5 million (about 3.4 billion KRW) per day due to this strike alone.

Kipchumba Murkomen, Kenya's Minister of Transport, said in a statement sent to the media regarding the court's order for pilots to return to work, "The Kenya aviation industry has had a difficult time due to the four-day strike," and "We sincerely apologize to travelers and cargo customers affected by this strike." He added, "More than 12,000 customers' travel plans were disrupted and over 300 flight schedules were canceled due to this strike," and "3,500 employees who did not participate in the strike were also affected."

Kenya Airways, the state-owned airline of Kenya, is the second largest airline in sub-Saharan Africa after Ethiopian Airlines. It operates 60 to 70 flights daily and transports about 4 million passengers annually to 42 major cities worldwide.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.