'Too late for talks,' KQ CEO Kilavuka tells striking pilots to return to work or be replaced

Kilavuka stated in a press conference on Monday that the window for talks is closed and that the airline expects the pilots to return to work before any discussions are held.

"We want them to go back to work before we can talk to the pilots. It’s too late for talks. They either come to work or we replace them," Mr. Kilavuka said. 

According to the KQ CEO, the pilots will be held individually and collectively responsible for the airline's losses and the repeated damage done to the airline.

Mr. Kilavuka stated that the airline is willing to go ahead with hiring new pilots in order to avoid being held hostage by industrial action every time.

Meanwhile, the KQ CEO apologized for the strike, which entered its third day on Monday, saying the airline had restored about 20% of its network by 2PM Monday and airlifted approximately 25 tonnes of cargo.

"We have restored 20% of our network so far as of 2 pm this afternoon. We expect this to increase to 30% by tomorrow," Kilavuka added. 

"We have reduced the number of passenger disruptions to 9000." 

According to KQ, 25 pilots have returned to work so far, while 132 others have called in to say they are unable to fly.

The strike began at 06:00 a.m. on Saturday at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, defying a court order prohibiting industrial action and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

The strike has exacerbated the problems facing the troubled national carrier, which has been making losses for years despite the government pumping millions of dollars into it to keep it afloat.

The airline, which is owned in part by the government and Air France-KLM, is one of the largest in Africa, connecting numerous African countries to Europe and Asia.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen urged the pilots to return to work on Sunday, warning them against "defying a court order."