JKIA: Videos Of Passengers Stranded After Airport Workers Go On Strike Over Adani Takeover

• Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at JKIA as airport workers went on strike over the proposed Adani Group takeover
• The strike, which began at midnight on September 11, disrupted travel plans for many passengers, with videos of the chaos being widely circulated online
• Airport workers, represented by the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), are protesting the potential leasing of JKIA to India's Adani Group

Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than three years of financial, business, and technology research expertise, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends.

Nairobi - Hundreds of passengers are stranded at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The commotion at JKIA is courtesy of the airport workers' strike that commenced at midnight on Wednesday, September 11.

Videos of passengers stranded at the airport have been widely shared online, affecting the airport's reputation.

Why is there commotion at JKIA?

An inside source at the Kenya Airport Workers Union (KAWU) confirmed to TUKO.co.ke that the strike is ongoing due to unresolved concerns over the Adani Group takeover deal.

"The strike is on," the man declared.

Larry Madowo, a popular Kenyan journalist, shared a video stating that he was hoping to fly out before the workers' strike began at midnight.

Why airport workers are on strike

For weeks, the airport workers have protested the proposed leasing of JKIA to Adani Group due to implications for their job security and welfare.

KAWU had earlier scheduled a strike for August 19, but it was postponed to allow for engagements with the government.

However, discussions with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and other government officials seem to have been futile with the airport workers commencing their strike on Wednesday, plunging JKIA into chaos.

Reportedly, KAA workers will need to renegotiate their contracts and could face job losses if Adani Airport Holdings secures the bid to operate JKIA for 30 years.

The employees would then be employed under Adani’s terms and conditions, with the company also planning to integrate non-Kenyan staff into its workforce.

Other concerns about JKIA takeover by Adani

Other institutional bodies in Kenya have raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the proposal to hand over the airport's management to Adani, considering that a whistleblower on the X platform broke the information to the public.

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) raised concerns about the proposed 30-year concession deal for JKIA.

According to IEK, the Adani proposal prioritises City Side Development (CSD), including hotels and malls, which overlooks urgent needs like runways and taxiways.

The IEK raised the alarm that terminal and taxiway developments are delayed until Phase 2 (2029-2034) and that a new runway is not provided for throughout the concession period.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke