Passengers travelling to Nairobi and Entebbe through Kisumu International Airport were stranded for much of Monday as flight operations were disrupted by an aviation workers’ strike that entered its second day.
Among those caught in the disruption was Siaya County Acting Secretary Elizabeth Adongo, whose Safarilink flight to Nairobi was cancelled after she spent several hours waiting at the airport.
Ms Adongo said she arrived at Kisumu International Airport at 7am to catch a flight to Nairobi, where she was due to attend a crucial county meeting scheduled for 10am.
However, she said she spent hours at the airport without receiving clear information about the status of her flight.
“I arrived at the airport around 7am because we had a crucial county meeting in Nairobi at 10am. From 7am to around noon, I was just seated waiting for an update. I was supposed to travel with Safarilink,” she said.
Ms Adongo said she eventually received a text message from the airline informing her that the flight had been cancelled.
“The SMS from Safarilink arrived around 1pm stating that the flight had been cancelled,” she said.
The cancellation forced her to reconsider her travel plans after she had already missed the morning meeting in Nairobi.
Another passenger, Lennox Omondi, an employee of the Siaya County Government, was also caught up in the disruption.
Mr Omondi, who had planned to travel to Nairobi by air, headed to a bus booking office after receiving a flight cancellation message at about 1pm.
The disruption left several passengers stranded at the airport, with some scrambling to find alternative means of transport to reach their destinations.
By Monday afternoon, Kisumu International Airport management said it was holding a crisis meeting to assess the situation and determine the way forward.
The disruption came as aviation workers continued their strike for a second consecutive day, affecting operations at airports and leaving passengers uncertain about whether their scheduled flights would take off.
Several travellers remained at Kisumu International Airport awaiting updates from airlines and airport authorities, while others abandoned their flight plans and turned to road transport.
Airport management had not immediately indicated when normal operations would resume.
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