Kenya Airways pilots on strike will face disciplinary action if they do not return to work immediately, the government said on Sunday, as thousands of passengers were stranded for a second day due to dozens of new flight cancellations.
The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) began the strike at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Saturday, defying a court order prohibiting industrial action and exacerbating the national carrier’s woes.
“Given KALPA’s defiance and total disregard for the existing court order – which is central to the rule of law,” Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement. “I urge the pilots to be mindful of the consequences of defying a court order and to return to work as soon as possible because impunity is not an option,” the newly appointed minister said.