JKIA chaos: KQ's first flight to London set for 10.30am

The first flight from JKIA to London is scheduled to take off at 10.30 am after lengthy disruptions on Wednesday morning occasioned by the aviation workers’ strike.

KQ210 flight to Mumbai is set to depart at 10.30 am.

KQ CEO Sebastian Mikosz said a total of 24 flights were disrupted in the morning while two arriving flights were diverted.

About 80 per cent of the flights (20 flights) were international, he said.

“Our flight to Dubai, Mombasa, Amsterdam should depart after a delay...but they will depart," he said at JKIA.

KQ349 from Khartoum had been diverted to Kilimanjaro after arriving in Nairobi at 5.17 am.

Another flight KQ505 from Accra that had been diverted to Mombasa, arrived at JKIA at 5.59 am.

Others are KQ116 to Amsterdam which is set to depart at 10.45 am and KQ100 to London (11.06am).

Mikosz apologised to the affected passengers over the delays and asked them to check with their respective flights on the rescheduled departure times.

He expressed optimism that the evening flights will not experience further delays as the situation is normalising.

Mikosz said passengers should not be worried about their security as the replacement staff doing security checks are equally trained and will do a thorough job.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport following the disruption caused by striking aviation workers over a management row.

The workers are opposed to a planned takeover of management of the airport to Kenya Airways.

The Kenya Airports Authority workers say the move will render most of them jobless, a claim Transport CS James Macharia has since dismissed.

He said the takeover was just a proposal that has not been finalised.

"The point is nothing has happened. We are still engaging the parties concerned in those discussions, whenever it happens then we shall make the appropriate pronouncements," the CS said.

Passengers stranded at JKIA as aviation workers begin strike