Kenya Airways pilots will end their days-long strike and return to work on Wednesday November 9, 2022, their union has confirmed.
This directive comes after a court ordered staff to resume operations in what has been described by industry players as a breakthrough for the beleaguered airline.
“Our members shall resume duty” by 6:00 am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday,” the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) said in a statement released late Tuesday, after their walkout forced hundreds of flight cancellations and left thousands of passengers stranded
The airline had cancelled most of its flights on Monday as the pilots’ strike entered its third day, with the government threatening disciplinary action if staff did not return to work.
The strike has exacerbated the woes facing the troubled national carrier, which has been running losses for years, despite the government pumping in millions of dollars to keep it afloat.
The airline, which is jointly-owned by the government and Air France-KLM, is one of the biggest in Africa, connecting multiple countries to Europe and Asia.
The protesting pilots, who make up 10 per cent of the workforce, were pressing for the reinstatement of contributions to a provident fund and payment of all salaries stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic.
