NAIROBI - A Nairobi court has ordered striking Kenya Airways pilots to return to work by Wednesday morning, a breakthrough for the beleaguered carrier after the days-long walkout forced flight cancellations and left thousands of passengers stranded.
The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) launched the strike at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday, defying a court order issued last week against the industrial action.
Justice Anna Mwaure on Tuesday ordered "the Kenya Airways pilots to resume their duties as pilots by 6:00 am on 9th November 2022 unconditionally".
The walkout has exacerbated the woes facing the troubled national carrier, which has been running losses for years, despite the government pumping in millions of dollars to keep it afloat.
READ: Kenya Airways cancels 'most flights' over pilots' strike
There was no immediate response from KALPA to the court order, which was welcomed by the airline's management who vowed to intensify efforts to "recover the time, money and reputation lost".
The carrier on Monday announced that it was ending its recognition of the union and withdrawing from their collective bargaining deal, accusing KALPA of "exposing the airline to irreparable damage".
Mwaure said the court would now consider the issue and ordered the airline's management to allow the pilots "to perform their duties without harassing them or intimidating them and especially by not taking any disciplinary action against any of them".
In a statement released Tuesday evening, the airline's CEO Allan Kilavuka said: "We commit to complying with the Court's directions."
The carrier had earlier said that the strike had forced it to cancel most of its flights but Kilavuka vowed that the airline would "do everything possible to return to normalcy in the shortest time".
Kenya Airways, which is part owned by the government as well as Air France-KLM, is one of the biggest in Africa, connecting multiple countries to Europe and Asia.
The dispute has added to the challenges facing Kenya's recently elected government, with Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen on Sunday threatening the pilots with disciplinary action unless they returned to work.
Mwaure had summoned KALPA officials to appear in court on Tuesday for disobeying last week's injunction against the strike.