Kenyan aviation strike results in 1,000 tonnes of stranded cargo

The following is a statement by the Kenya Flower Council following recent aviation labor strikes that have disrupted the floral industry

The Kenya Flower Council (KFC) welcomes the end of the aviation workers’ industrial action following the Return-to-Work Agreement reached between the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), Jambojet Limited and Government.

While the restoration of normal airport operations is welcome, the Kenya Flower Council must state clearly that the disruption of the past two days was avoidable, and its economic consequences should never have been allowed to reach this magnitude.

The agreement eventually reached addresses matters including agency fees, collective bargaining negotiations, union recognition, management concerns and mechanisms for resolving outstanding grievances. It further commits the parties to industrial peace, good-faith engagement, consultation, negotiation and established dispute-resolution mechanisms.

These are fundamentally matters capable of resolution through dialogue and established industrial-relations mechanisms. Kenya should therefore not have had to lose export cargo, market opportunities, foreign exchange earnings and productive working hours before the parties returned to the negotiating table.

For the flower and wider perishable export industry, unfortunately, the end of the strike does not mean the end of the crisis.

About 1,000 Tonnes of Cargo Stranded – and More Remains on Farms
Industry estimates indicate that approximately 1,000 tonnes of cargo are currently caught in the backlog at the airport, with additional volumes of flowers and other perishables held back at farms and packhouses because the normal export chain was interrupted. Clearing this backlog will take several days.

Flowers are not conventional cargo that can simply wait for the next available aircraft. They are highly perishable, time-sensitive products harvested, graded, packed and transported against specific flight schedules, auction windows, retailer programmes and customer delivery dates. Every additional hour matters.

Delays translate directly into reduced vase life and shelf life, compromised quality, missed connecting flights, additional cold-chain and handling costs, cancelled orders and, ultimately, lost revenue.

Unfortunately, some of the orders affected over the past two days will not be recovered.

This disruption therefore adds further pain to growers and exporters during what has already been an exceptionally difficult year, characterised by high airfreight charges, rising production and compliance costs and intense competition in international markets.

The world does not wait for Kenya
The international flower market continued operating while Kenya’s export system was disrupted.

Auctions continued. Retailers continued requiring flowers. Consumers continued buying. Importers still had programmes to fulfil. And competing flower-producing countries remained ready to supply the market.

When Kenya cannot deliver, buyers have alternatives.

That is why this incident must be viewed not simply as an aviation labour dispute, but as an issue of national export competitiveness, foreign-exchange earnings, employment, livelihoods and Kenya’s reputation in international markets.

Kenya is one of the world’s leading exporters of cut flowers. Official statistics show that the country exported approximately 130,600 tonnes of cut flowers worth KSh81.3 billion in 2025, with flower export volumes increasing by 27.4% and earnings by 12.8% compared with 2024. Overall fresh horticultural exports reached approximately 457,900 tonnes valued at KSh143.8 billion.

Flowers alone accounted for approximately 62% of the value of Kenya’s horticultural exports in 2025. This is therefore not a peripheral industry whose supply chain can be switched on and off without consequences. It is one of Kenya’s important sources of export earnings, jobs and rural livelihoods.

The events of the past two days demonstrate how quickly those gains can be threatened when the country’s principal aviation gateway becomes unreliable.

Reliability is part of the product we sell
Kenya has spent decades building its position as a trusted global origin for high-quality flowers. Our growers have invested heavily in production systems, technology, sustainability, certification, cold-chain infrastructure, environmental and social standards and relationships with international customers.

However, quality alone does not make Kenya competitive.

Reliability is itself part of what Kenya sells.

A buyer in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Dubai or any other international market expects a Kenyan flower ordered for a particular programme to arrive at the agreed time and in the required condition.

Repeated disruptions at our principal export gateway risk sending a damaging message to international buyers: that while Kenya can produce world-class flowers, it cannot always guarantee that they will leave the country on schedule.

Kenya cannot afford that perception.

Competitor countries are continuously improving their production systems, freight connectivity and market access. Every unnecessary disruption therefore creates an opportunity for another origin to take an order, a programme or a customer that previously belonged to Kenya. Once lost, such business is not necessarily recovered when airport operations resume.

This disruption should have been avoided
KFC fully recognises the constitutional and labour rights of workers and the legitimate role of collective bargaining. Equally, employers and Government institutions have a responsibility to engage workers constructively and address grievances through established mechanisms.

However, the latest strike is particularly concerning because there had already been ample warning and an earlier opportunity to resolve the dispute.

The industrial action followed a strike notice issued in July and a government-brokered framework agreement reached on 27 July 2026, under which the parties were expected to engage and resolve the outstanding issues. The return to industrial action barely a month later demonstrates that the earlier process did not deliver the durable settlement Kenya’s aviation and export sectors required.

During the latest disruption, operations at JKIA were severely affected. Contemporary reports documented widespread delays and cancellations of cargo and passenger flights.

For exporters of flowers, vegetables, fruits and other perishables, disruption at JKIA immediately travels backwards through the supply chain – from airlines and cargo terminals to freight forwarders, transporters, packhouses, farms, workers and suppliers – and forwards to overseas importers, auctions, wholesalers and retailers.

The cost of an aviation shutdown is therefore ultimately carried far beyond the airport.

Kenya must draw a line under disruptive aviation strikes
The Kenya Flower Council hopes that we have now seen the end of aviation strikes over matters that can and should be resolved through timely dialogue, negotiation and established dispute-resolution mechanisms. The Return-to-Work Agreement provides an opportunity to do precisely that.

KFC therefore calls upon Government, KAA, KCAA, aviation employers, KAWU and all other stakeholders to ensure that the commitments now made are implemented fully and within the agreed timelines. The country cannot afford to return to the same situation several weeks or months from now.

There must also be accountability for ensuring that disagreements within critical national infrastructure are identified and addressed before they escalate into shutdowns that impose enormous losses on businesses and workers who are not parties to those disputes.

Protect perishable exports as critical national cargo
KFC further calls for the urgent establishment of a National Aviation Contingency Protocol for Perishable Exports.

Such a framework should ensure that, even where labour or operational disputes arise, clearly defined contingency arrangements protect the minimum services necessary to move time-critical perishable exports.

This should include priority cargo handling, cold-chain continuity, cargo clearance, aircraft servicing, alternative routing arrangements, backlog-management procedures and real-time communication with exporters.

Kenya’s dependence on JKIA for time-sensitive horticultural exports makes such arrangements an economic necessity rather than an option.

The Government should further establish a permanent aviation-sector industrial relations mechanism bringing together the relevant government agencies, airport authorities, airlines, labour representatives and key users of aviation infrastructure. Its purpose should be early identification and resolution of disputes before they threaten national trade.

“We Cannot Keep Paying for Avoidable Disruptions” – KFC CEO
“We welcome the agreement and the resumption of normal operations, but we must also be candid about what has happened. This strike was avoidable. The matters that have now been agreed could have been addressed without first subjecting the country’s exporters, travellers, businesses and workers to two days of severe disruption.

For the flower and perishable industry, the problem did not end when the agreement was signed. We estimate that about 1,000 tonnes of cargo are caught in the backlog at the airport, with even more product held back on farms and in packhouses. It will take several days for the supply chain to recover, and unfortunately some orders have already been lost or will not reach customers within their intended market windows.

Flowers cannot wait. Every hour matters to quality, vase life and customer commitments. When Kenya fails to deliver, the international market does not wait for us – buyers source from somewhere else.

We have spent decades building Kenya’s reputation as one of the world’s most important and reliable sources of flowers. We must not surrender that competitive advantage through unnecessary and preventable disruptions at our principal international gateway.

This has already been a difficult year for growers. We cannot continue adding avoidable costs and losses to businesses that are competing every day in extremely demanding international markets.

We respect workers’ rights and collective bargaining. But equally, Government, employers and labour organisations have a responsibility to resolve disagreements before they become national economic disruptions. We sincerely hope that Kenya has seen the last of strikes of this nature over matters that can be resolved through dialogue. The economic and livelihood losses are simply too great.” – Clement Tulezi, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Flower Council

The immediate priority: Clear the backlog
KFC’s immediate priority is the rapid restoration of Kenya’s perishable export pipeline. We call upon airlines, KAA, cargo handlers, freight forwarders, KCAA and all relevant government agencies to work jointly with exporters over the coming days to clear the accumulated cargo as quickly as operationally and safely possible, prioritising the most time-sensitive perishables.

KFC will continue engaging Government, aviation stakeholders, logistics providers and its members as the industry works through the backlog. But beyond clearing today’s cargo, Kenya must learn from this episode.

The country’s global reputation has taken decades to build. It must not be put at risk by disputes that can be settled around a negotiating table.

Aviation is critical national economic infrastructure. For Kenya’s flower and horticultural industries, it is the bridge between farms and consumers around the world. Keeping that bridge reliable, predictable and competitive is a shared national responsibility.

Kenya must remain open for business – and when we promise the world that our flowers will arrive, we must be able to deliver.