Aviation workers have issued a seven-day strike notice, warning that they will shut down the country’s airspace if the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) fails to review their salaries and address what they describe as years of labour violations.
Under the threat, no aircraft would be allowed to land or take off from Kenyan airports, a move that would paralyse passenger travel, cargo operations and regional overflights in one of East Africa’s busiest aviation corridors.
Speaking during a union briefing on Tuesday, the Secretary General of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union, Moss Ndiema, accused the government and KCAA management of indifference and arrogance, saying negotiations had collapsed after the authority said it had no money to improve workers’ pay.
“The government does not care. They are simplistic. They are arrogant,” Mr Ndiema said. “Today they told us point blank that the authority does not have money, that they do not have a budget to review salaries for our members. Employees who have had no increments since 2015 are being told there is no money for any incremental considerations.”
Mr Ndiema said workers’ grievances go beyond stagnant salaries, accusing KCAA of engaging in illegal labour practices by hiring staff on rolling short-term contracts for work that is permanent.
“Contrary to the CBA and contrary to the law, they are employing people on contracts of three months or six months, then parking them for a month before re-employing them,” he said. “Courts in this country have pronounced themselves again and again that short-term contracts for permanent work are wrong.”
The union also raised concerns over what it described as discriminatory treatment of contract workers, particularly female employees who receive medical cover limited to themselves, excluding newborn children.
“A female employee on contract employment is given medical cover to self only,” Mr Ndiema said. “When they give birth, that baby is not covered. If there are complications, KCAA provides no cover extension. What kind of an employer is this?”
The ultimatum, he said, leaves the union with no choice but to prepare for industrial action if KCAA fails to return with what he termed a “realistic proposal” within seven days.
“We know the consequences. We know the sensitive role our members play in this country,” he said. “But where we are left with no option, we will ask our members to down tools.”
“We will close the airspace,” he said. “We will ask our members at KCAA, Kenya Airways, Swissport and other aviation service providers to ground everything at JKIA and all other airports.”
Union chairman Walter Ongeri accused KCAA management of unilaterally restructuring the organisation without consulting workers or their representatives, arguing that the changes undermine collective bargaining and misclassify operational staff as managers.
Chairman of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union Walter Ongeri addresses journalists on January 20, 2026, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The Union has issued 7 days strike notice to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority over salary increases for its employees.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada|Nation Media Group
“They made a structure that is not aligned and did not consult the union,” Mr Ongeri said. “You cannot borrow civil service positions and bring them into the aviation sector. Aviation operates differently.”
He added that some employees who have sought to join the union have been blocked by management, a move he said violates the Constitution.
Several KCAA employees echoed those concerns, saying they felt disenfranchised and unable to advocate for their working conditions without union representation.
“The Constitution of Kenya is very clear that every employee has the right to join a union,” said Peter Gichuri, a KCAA employee. “When we are blocked, we are left to wonder who is left to fight for us.”
Others warned that unresolved labour disputes could have implications for aviation safety, arguing that staff morale has been eroded.
KCAA had not publicly responded to the strike notice by the time of publication. The Transport Ministry also remained silent, even as the seven-day countdown began.
If the standoff is not resolved, the strike would mark one of the most severe disruptions to the aviation sector in the country, with economic and regional consequences extending far beyond the country’s borders.
