Back to normal. The Kenyan government and aviation sector unions reached an agreement overnight from Monday to Tuesday, ending the strike that had disrupted traffic at Kenya’s main airports since Sunday. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) announced an immediate resumption of operations.
“The agreement took effect immediately and normal operations have resumed,” the KCAA stated in a press release on Tuesday. The terms of the agreement include the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement between the KCAA and the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), as well as an agreement between the union and Jambojet, the low-cost subsidiary of Kenya Airways. The parties also agreed that there would be no sanctions against employees who participated in the movement.
However, the recovery remains gradual on Tuesday morning. Air traffic tracking sites report reduced activity around the country’s main airports, particularly Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya’s main air hub and one of the most important in East Africa. Several international flights scheduled for Monday evening or overnight to arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday are listed as cancelled on FlightRadar24.
The Kenyan government apologized on Monday evening for the “serious disruptions” recorded at JKIA and their impact on passengers, airlines, economic activities, and the country’s international connectivity. At JKIA, hundreds of travelers were stranded. Kenya Airways had indicated that nearly 30% of its flights departing from or arriving at the airport were experiencing delays of two to three hours, with some departures delayed by more than three hours. Several flights had also been cancelled.
The union movement began on Sunday and involved several categories of aviation workers across the country. The KAWU, which claims about 10,000 members, had indicated that the strike involved employees of the KCAA, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), and Jambojet.
The union’s main grievance concerned the KCAA’s alleged refusal to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement since 2015. The KAWU also denounced the KAA’s use of young volunteers from the National Youth Service rather than hiring employees.
The union had threatened to strike against KAA, KCAA, Kenya Airways, and Jambojet last month. But after a framework agreement involving the resolution of disputes within 30 days, the strike was suspended. A month later, the movement was relaunched due to a lack of sufficient progress in resolving disputes with the authorities, with the national airline, Kenya Airways, being the only one to have adhered to the agreement, according to the union.
Social movements in the Kenyan aviation sector are not new. Several strikes have already severely disrupted traffic in recent years, particularly at JKIA, with the most recent one dating back to February.
Captured & Published at: 2026-09-01 12:23:51 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.2424.mg/transport-aerien-un-accord-met-fin-a-la-greve-qui-avait-perturbe-depuis-dimanche-les-principaux-aeroports-du-kenya-selon-laviation-civile-kenyane/