Somalia-Kenya Flights Disrupted for Second Day Amid Nairobi Airport Strike

GOOBJOOG NEWS| MOGADISHU: Air travel between Somalia and Kenya remained severely disrupted for a second consecutive day on Monday, leaving hundreds of passengers unable to travel between the two neighbouring countries.

Several scheduled services connecting Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport and Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) have been affected since Sunday, disrupting one of Somalia’s busiest international air corridors.

An estimated four to six passenger flights normally operate between Somalia and Kenya each day. Preliminary estimates indicate that around 500 passengers may have had their travel plans disrupted over the past two days, although the figure could not be independently verified.

The disruption coincides with wider flight delays and cancellations at JKIA caused by industrial action involving Kenyan aviation workers and problems affecting air traffic control services.

The Kenya Aviation Workers Union has been engaged in industrial action over unresolved employment grievances, including pay and collective bargaining issues. The action has disrupted operations at Kenya’s main international airport, affecting thousands of passengers on domestic and international routes.

Kenya Airways said on Sunday that operational constraints affecting Air Traffic Control services at JKIA had resulted in average delays of between two and three hours for its scheduled flights.

The Kenya Airports Authority said on Monday that disruptions to air traffic control services were continuing to affect flight operations at JKIA and advised passengers to confirm their flight status with airlines before travelling to the airport.

It remains unclear, however, whether all cancellations on the Somalia-Kenya route are directly attributable to the disruption in Nairobi. Somalia’s Federal Government and aviation authorities had not issued an official statement explaining the interruptions or indicating when normal services would resume.

The Mogadishu-Nairobi route is an important regional connection for Somali travellers, businesspeople, government officials and humanitarian personnel, while Nairobi remains a major transit point for passengers travelling between Somalia and destinations further afield.

Air links between Somalia and Kenya have previously been affected by political and diplomatic disputes between the two countries. In May 2021, Kenya suspended flights to and from Somalia amid strained bilateral relations, before direct air travel was subsequently restored.

The latest disruption comes without any publicly announced diplomatic restrictions between Mogadishu and Nairobi, making the ongoing problems at JKIA the clearest publicly documented factor affecting flights.

Passengers are awaiting further clarification from aviation authorities and individual airlines on when regular services between the two countries will fully resume.