Flights were grounded and hundreds of passengers stranded at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as Kenyan aviation workers began a strike.
The Standard newspaper said the workers were kicking against the planned handover of management of the airport to Kenya Airways. The workers, who included cabin crew, ground staff, security, air traffic controllers and maintenance staff were called out by their Kenyan Aviation Workers Union (KAWU)
The Kenyan Aviation Workers Union said the plans will render most of the workers jobless and wants the plan to be discarded.
The strike got many passengers by surprise, as there was an injunction by the Employment and Labour Relations court stopping the strike and the airport authority had assured of seamless service Wednesday.
The union has questioned the proposed merger, which is under scrutiny by Parliament.