NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Workers at Kenya’s main international airport began a strike today against an Indian company seeking to lease it, blowing plastic trumpets and scuffling with police in a protest that caused cancellations and delays for hundreds of passengers.
Dozens of workers at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport chanted “Adani must go” in reference to a proposed deal for the Adani Group to lease it for 30 years in exchange for $1.85 billion investment in expansion.
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the sector regulator, said that air traffic control services were fully operational, with landings and take-offs uninterrupted.
Outside the terminals, passengers sat on curbs and luggage trolleys waiting for updates on flights as departure and arrival boards were shut off.
“It’s very poor,” said one passenger, Ahmed Abdulrahman, recounting a six-hour wait.
“Nobody is coming out to tell us anything, whether we should leave or look for a hotel or something. I have a little child here waiting hungrily,” added Warda Omar.
TV footage showed one police officer hitting a protester with a baton. By midday, lines were moving again, as police conducted security checks instead of airport staff.
It was unclear how many workers were taking part in the strike, which has been declared indefinite, or how much disruption had been caused.
Major regional carriers Emirates, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir reported flight cancellations and delays.
The Adani Group, led by one of Asia’s richest persons, billionaire Gautam Adani, did not respond to a request for comment.
Adani’s group operates seven airports in India and has often faced criticism from Indian opposition parties for winning favours from ruling governments. Indian officials and the Adani group have denied such accusations.
Adani is also considering investing in two airports in Vietnam, the Vietnamese government said in July.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union argues that a deal with Adani would lead to job losses and bring in non-Kenyan workers.
Kenya’s government has said the airport is operating above capacity and needs modernising but that it is not for sale. It says no decision has been made on what it calls a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the site.
The Kenya Airports Authority, which is responsible for managing the airport, said minimal operations at Jomo Kenyatta had resumed by 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and it was seeking to normalise the situation.
The strike spread to workers at regional airports in the cities of Kisumu and Mombasa, the Nation newspaper reported.
Kenya’s high court on Monday temporarily blocked the Adani proposal, in which it would build a new runway and upgrade the passenger terminal, to allow time for a judicial review.
