Kenya says flights operations normalizing at capital airport

NAIROBI, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan Airport authorities said Wednesday flights operations which have been affected by an illegal strike by a section of Airport workers are steadily normalizing.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said all scheduled arrivals have been processed and the backlog of departures arising from this morning's disruptions has been substantively cleared.

"As we continue to implement plans to fully normalize operations at JKIA, we reiterate our earlier advice to the travelling public to get in touch with their respective airlines and travel agents for confirmation of their travel arrangements," KAA said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

At least five flights from Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines have departed the JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) after security officers began manning counters following the workers strike that had disrupted the services.

The strike forced the Kenyan authorities to divert flights to Tanzania and Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

"KQ 349 from Khartoum had been diverted to Kilimanjaro. This flight landed in Nairobi at 0517hrs. KQ505 from Accra that had been diverted to Mombasa arrived at 0559hrs," Kenya Airways said in a statement.

The striking employees allied to Kenya Aviation Workers Union opposed the handover of management of JKIA to Kenya Airways and are also accusing the national carrier leadership of financial wastage.