Worker strike delays flights at Kenya's main airport

A strike by aviation workers over unresolved labor issues is causing significant flight delays at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, affecting arrivals and departures.

Humphrey Malalo and Vincent Mumo Nzilani/Reuters

16 February 2026 at 11:41:14

Worker strike delays flights at Kenya's main airport

Airport officials arrange luggage trolleys as a strike by workers causes flight delays at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya, February 16, 2026.

Monicah Mwangi/Reuters

Kenya's main international airport was experiencing flight delays on Monday due to a strike by members of the aviation union, operator Kenya Airports Authority said.

Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is one of the continent's major air transport hubs.

The labour dispute between the aviation workers' union and the civil aviation authority is over grievances including the failure to conclude a collective bargaining agreement.

Last week, the aviation workers' union issued a seven-day strike notice, after which the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority approached the courts to try to block the strike.

"This is a complete strike action. I have not been served with any court order halting the strike," Moss Ndiema, the union's secretary general, told Reuters by phone.

Kenya Airways KQNA.NR and Tanzania's Precision Air PAL.TZ said air traffic control delays were affecting departures and arrivals at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

-Additional reporting by George Obulutsa;Editing by Alexander Winning and Kirsten Donovan/Reuters