Nigerian travellers stranded at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday night staged a protest over prolonged flight delays and cancellations that have left scores of passengers unable to continue their journeys to Lagos for more than 24 hours.
The protest, which began at about 10 p.m. on Monday, August 31, followed hours of uncertainty, repeated changes in departure time and what the affected passengers described as a lack of adequate information and welfare arrangements.
Tribune Online learnt that many Lagos-bound passengers joined the protest at the airport, demanding immediate action to get them home after several assurances that their flight would depart failed to materialise.
Some of the passengers had reportedly been at the airport for more than 24 hours following disruptions to Nairobi-Lagos flights, with neither a definite departure arrangement nor accommodation provided for those forced to remain at the airport overnight.
The latest group of passengers had initially expected to depart Nairobi for Lagos at about 8:15 p.m., but the flight schedule was subsequently changed several times.
According to the stranded travellers, they were at different times informed that the flight would depart at 6:15 p.m., then 7 p.m., before another departure time of 10:50 p.m. was announced.
However, by 10.50 p.m., Tribune Online learnt that with growing uncertainty over whether the flight would eventually operate and frustration mounting among passengers, the Nigerians began protesting inside the airport.
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The passengers complained that beyond the repeated rescheduling, there was little or no clear communication on when they would eventually be flown to Lagos.
They also expressed anger that despite the prolonged disruption, no hotel accommodation had been provided, leaving many passengers, including elderly people, to spend extended periods within the airport terminal.
“We have been here for hours without any certainty about when we are leaving. The time keeps changing, yet nobody is giving us a definite explanation. Some Nigerians have been caught up in this situation for more than 24 hours,” one of the protesting passengers said.
Another passenger said the protest became necessary after travellers felt their concerns were not receiving adequate attention.
“We are more than 120 Nigerians here. People are tired and frustrated. What we want is simple: tell us when we are leaving, provide accommodation where necessary and treat passengers with dignity,” the traveller said.
The protesters called on the airline and relevant airport authorities to urgently address the situation and provide a definite arrangement for their evacuation to Lagos.
They also appealed to Nigerian diplomatic authorities in Kenya and aviation authorities in Nigeria to intervene in the plight of passengers stranded in Nairobi.
Meanwhile, Tribune Online gathered that the delays at Kenya’s main international airport on Monday were due to an ongoing airport workers’ go-slow strike action continued into its second day, with the main union saying negotiations were ongoing.
According to Reuters, the Kenya Aviation Workers’ Union (KAWU) said the strike at the airport was due to a range of grievances, including the inability to conclude a collective bargaining agreement with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and lack of cooperation from the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Kenya Airways (KQNA.NR).
