Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was on Wednesday at a standstill after the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) went on strike.
The workers are said to have downed their tools from midnight with fire engines withdrawn from the runway and no planes landing since then.
Essentially, Kawu boasts of a membership that is also very critical to the security and smooth running of the airports in the country.
Kawu is demanding the removal from office of KAA Chief Executive Johnny Andersen and chairman of the board Isaac Awuondo and their KQ counterparts.
The union has questioned how the national carrier’s CEO Sebastian Mikosz, board chairman Michael Joseph and a team of managers and consultants were allegedly paid a whopping Ksh1.3 billion ($13 million) in 18 months.
They want the KQ and KAA managers and directors to be shown the door.
The union further said that the payments made by the national carrier were a sign that its management was averse to financial prudency.
According to confirmed reports, the airline early last year was invoiced by two Polish based companies for Ksh.10 million and Ksh.8.2 million respectively, funds the union insist were not in the interest of the airline.
“It is only then that workers in this industry will have the confidence that the issues affecting them will be addressed,” Kawu secretary-general Moses Ndiema said.
KAA had on Tuesday, in a media advisory, assured travellers that flights would not be disrupted.
Long queues have formed at the airport’s gates, with some sources indicating that some of the airport’s entry points had been closed by the workers on go-slow, prompting a heavy deployment of police.
Fire engines have also been withdrawn from some runways, with planes that were supposed to leave the East African aviation hub remaining grounded.
Hundreds of passengers are stranded at the airport after their flights were delayed or rescheduled, with many taking to social media to vent their frustration.