Operations Fully Restored at JKIA After Wednesday Hitch

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) on Thursday said normal operations have been fully restored at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) following Wednesday's hitch.

In a statement to newsrooms, KAA apologized to travelers and airport users inconvenienced by the strike.

“We also appreciate the support accorded to us by the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development and Public works, various security agencies, airlines and all other stakeholders in helping to restore normal operations at JKIA,” KAA sayid in a statement.

Business at the country's largest airport came to a standstill after airport workers under the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) went on strike.

Thousands of travelers who had booked tickets to various local and international destinations remained stranded for several hours at the airport.

The striking employees are opposing the planned handover of management of the airport to loss-making Kenya Airways (KQ).

Following the strike, flights that were scheduled to land at JKIA were diverted to Mombasa and Tanzania.

However, operations began returning to normal on Wednesday afternoon after the government deployed military personnel to man the counters.

The employees have promised to end the boycott if KAWU officials led by Secretary-General Moss Ndiema, who were arrested on Wednesday, are released.

Kenya Airways says it suffered losses amounting to Sh300 million following the strike.