Police and Protesters Clash at Kenyan Airport
Hundreds of travellers are stranded at a major airport in Nairobi, Kenya, after the police clashed with aviation workers who were on strike.
Per reports, staff members at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport downed their tools in the early hours of Wednesday, 6 March, over the planned takeover of the airport – operated by the state-run Kenya Aviation Authority (KAA) – by national airline, Kenya Airways (KQ).
Frustrations with the board of management and unfair staff hiring are also factors behind the strike.
Riot police officials faced off with protesting workers in the terminals, lobbing teargas in a bid to disperse them.
The ensuing chaos resulted in the airport suspending all operations. This left hundreds of passengers stranded in long queues since midnight.
James Macharia, the country’s transport minister, promised that flights will resume shortly.
Regarding the takeover, he added: “What [the workers] were fearing is that the proposed merger between KQ and KAA will result in job losses, but we gave assurances that that will not happen.”
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