Travellers opt for alternative carriers as pilot strike starts to bite
By Harrison.Kivisu and Kepher Otieno, November 7, 2022Passengers among them local tourists travelling from Mombasa and Kisumu opted for alternative carriers as the Kenya Airways strike continued to disrupt air movement in the country.
More than 10,000 passengers were stranded on Saturday as aviation workers also joined pilots on a strike to protest against failure to implement a pay rise. Among those affected are travellers wanted to catch international flights in Nairobi.
At the Moi International Airport, in Mombasa, the majority of travellers told People Daily yesterday that they opted for alternative budget carriers to avoid being inconvenienced by the ongoing stalemate.
“When I saw about what’s going on with KQ, I decided to book a Fly 540 flight, because we did not want inconveniences, “said a passenger travelling to Nairobi from Mombasa.
Another traveller revealed to People Daily that her Sunday 12 noon flight to Nairobi was cancelled and later scheduled to 1600 hours, throwing him to a five hour wait.
Alternative plans
In Kisumu, Dr. Joshua Were from Maseno University says he was forced to book Fly 748 to Nairobi to catch up with training at the College of Insurance that starts tomorrow morning by 8 am.
“I am surprised, I came here thinking all is well, but I am told there are no scheduled flights in operation today, while the booking was made two weeks ago,’’ said Were.
The stalemate has attracted condemnation from players who are asking the government to move with speed and salvage the situation before it escalates to affect the high tourism season of December.
“With such a strike by pilots the industry that gets hit the most is my industry of tourism. I hope this is resolved as soon as possible,” said Mohamed Hersi, Polmans Tours Company group director of operations.