Kamal Ghorui
NAIROBI: A strike by workers at Kenya’s main gateway — Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Int’l Airport (JKIA) — has severely affected flight operations out of here, with some airlines including IndiGo cancelling flights on Tuesday. As a result, hundreds of Indians are among the scores of foreigners of stuck in Kenya, unable to leave the country. And those who need to fly in are also unable to do so.India, which sent over 1.3 lakh tourists to the East African country last year and is its fifth largest source market for international tourists, has only one direct flight to the country — IndiGo’s daily flight between Mumbai and Nairobi. A majority of Indian travel via Gulf carriers like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.IndiGo cancelled its Mumbai-Nairobi-Mumbai flight on Tuesday (Feb 17). Whether Wednesday’s flight operates remains to be seen. Since the cancellation is not attributable to the airline, it is not providing hotel accommodation to travellers stuck in Nairobi. Since Kenya’s main airline that has its hub at JKIA is only reporting delays and not cancellations, IndiGo passengers stranded in Nairobi have kept their fingers crossed.In a travel advisory on flight disruptions at JKIA, Kenya Airways said: “….we are experiencing delays of up to four hours for departures out of JKIA and have adjusted our network accordingly.”Many stranded passengers are now trying to find affordable hotel accommodation. One of them who was supposed to fly out of Nairobi on Tuesday got the flight cancellation message on Monday night. “We were at the end of our Nairobi visit and had spent almost all the money we had for this trip. I contacted hotels and the minimum rate we got was $140 a night. One of the managers happened to be an Indian and advised us to check-in on Monday night itself as he said he was getting calls for booking rooms by other airlines for their stranded guests. He warned us that coming to check-in on Tuesday (to save one day’s charge) may mean not getting a room,” said the passenger. This family then opted for a cheaper Airbnb. “We just hope IndiGo operates its flight and takes us back home,” the passenger said.Meanwhile, the Kenya Airways advisory added: “We sincerely regret the inconvenience and are working closely with the relevant aviation authorities and airport stakeholders to minimise the impact on our customers and maintain safe operations. Our teams are doing everything possible to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of our customers, which remains our highest priority. Passengers are advised to expect schedule adjustments.”
