Adani’s Kenya deal: Workers at Nairobi airport protest causing flight delays, cancellations

Even as Kenya’s high court blocked the Adani Group’s plan to run the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, workers are now protesting the proposed deal. The strike by workers at Kenya's main international airport has caused flight delays and cancellations for both incoming and outgoing passengers, as per Kenya Airways.

Kenya’s biggest aviation workers union said they would take industrial action over the proposed deal to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Adani Group for 30 years. The union voiced its concerns over job losses and employment to foreign workers.

According to a report in Reuters, workers blew plastic trumpets and chanted "Adani must go" on Wednesday morning. Footage on local broadcaster Citizen TV also showed police officers hitting protesters. 

The Kenyan government wants to modernise the airport that it says has been operating above capacity but clarified that it is not up for sale. It said that no decision has been made on whether the proposed deal on a public-private partnership will go ahead. 

The Kenya Airports Authority said that it was engaging with relevant parties to normalise the situation. Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers queued outside the airport as the strike began at Tuesday midnight.  

The strike also spread to workers at regional airports in Kisumu and Mombasa cities on Wednesday morning. 

The deal involved Adani Group building a new runway and upgrading the passenger terminal. The block order by the high court would allow time for a judicial review challenging the lease.

(With Reuters inputs)