NAIROBI, Sept 11 (Askume) – Workers at Kenya’s main international airport on WednesdayA strike began against an Indian company that wanted to lease the airportThey blew plastic horns and scuffled with police, causing flights of hundreds of passengers to be cancelled or delayed.
Dozens of workers at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport chanted “Adani must go.” The chants came against the backdrop of a deal being worked out by the Adani Group to lease the airport for 30 years in exchange for a $1.85 billion investment in expansion.
The sector regulator, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, said air traffic control services were fully operational and landings and takeoffs were continuing uninterrupted.
With the departure and arrival boards closed, passengers sat on pavements and luggage trolleys outside the terminal waiting for flight information.
“The situation was very bad,” said passenger Ahmed Abdul Rahman, describing the six-hour wait.
“Nobody stood up and told us we should leave or find a hotel or somewhere else. I have a little child waiting here, hungry,” Warda Omar said.
Television footage showed a policeman beating a protester with a baton. By midday, the lines began to grow again as police replaced airport staff conducting security checks.
It was not clear how many workers were participating in the strike, which has been declared indefinite, or how much damage it had caused.
Major regional airlines Emirates, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Rwanda Airways reported flight cancellations and delays.
The Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s richest men, did not respond to a request for comment.
Losing a job
The Adani Group, which operates seven airports in India, has been regularly criticised by India’s opposition parties for seeking support from the ruling government. Indian officials and the Adani Group deny such allegations.
Adani is also considering investing in two airports in Vietnam, the Vietnamese government said in July.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union believes the deal with Adani will lead to job losses and an influx of non-Kenyan workers.
The Kenyan government said the airport was operating at capacity and needed modernisation, but it was not for sale. No decision had yet been made on a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the site, it said.
The Kenya Airports Authority, which manages the airport, said Jomo Kenyatta Airport had resumed minimal operations at 7 am (0400GMT) and was working to normalise the situation.
The strike spread to workers at regional airports in Kisumu and Mombasa, The Nation reports.
Kenya’s High Court on Monday temporarily halted Adani’s proposals to build a new runway and upgrade the terminal to allow time for a judicial review .
