Rwanda’s national carrier, RwandAir, resumed its flights to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Thursday, September 12, according to information from the airline. Earlier, on Wednesday, RwandAir announced the cancellation of its flights to JKIA due to a strike by airport staff at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Due to the ongoing strike by airport staff at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, our flights WB452/WB453 KGL/NBO/KGL on 11 September 2024 are cancelled. All affected passengers will be rebooked on the next available flights. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. — RwandAir (@FlyRwandAir) September 11, 2024 The affected passengers were rebooked on the next available flights on September 12. Earlier, media reports indicated that travellers were stranded at the Kenyan airport as a result of a strike by staff at the important transport hub in Kenya over a controversial decision by the government to lease the airport to Indian company, Adani Enterprises. Hundreds of travellers around East Africa were stranded Wednesday while others had their travel schedules disrupted due to the strike that paralysed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before it was called off in the evening. RwandAir, Ethiopian and Ugandan Airlines, the national carriers of Rwanda, Ethiopia and Uganda, respectively, advised their guests to await information as flights into and out of Nairobi were grounded. #TravelUpdates pic.twitter.com/o8UzkLqJVE — Uganda Airlines (@UG_Airlines) September 11, 2024 RwandAir announced immediate cancellations while Uganda Airlines issued a statement warning of “possible delays and disruptions in its regional flight schedule.” Ethiopian regretted the inconvenience caused by a staff strike at the Nairobi’s JKIA and said it was “closely monitoring the situation and working to minimise the impact on our passengers.” The airport workers union announced the strike from midnight on Wednesday after it emerged that the Kenya government proposes to lease JKIA to Indian conglomerate Adani Group for 30 years, with the union fearing the transaction would lead to job losses. On Tuesday, Kenya’s High Court temporarily suspended the proposed plans to lease the airport till October 8, when a hearing of the case would be fixed. The case was filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Law Society of Kenya challenging the proposed lease, which the High Court certified as urgent. In a statement on Wednesday JKIA management apologised for the inconvenience caused by the strike but said minimal operations had resumed, as the authorities engage relevant parties to normalise operations.
