OPINION: Ongoing strike by Kenya Air Control Operators is damaging our economy & reputation

Your Excellency, President William Ruto, 

I write to you as a Kenyan deeply invested in the success of our tourism industry and in the broader economic well-being of our country.

You have always spoken passionately about growing visitor numbers and positioning Kenya as a leading global tourism destination. We have all welcomed that vision.

The sector has worked hard to rebuild momentum post-pandemic, and the results have been encouraging. 2025 was one great year, and 2026 is bound to be an even better year.

However, with the current strike by Air Traffic Controllers crippling our aviation system, one must honestly ask: how can we realistically grow visitor numbers if our airspace is unreliable?

Tourism runs on connectivity. When flights are disrupted, it is not just passengers who are affected. It is hotel bookings cancelled at the last minute, safaris postponed, conferences moved elsewhere, and future bookings quietly redirected to competing destinations perceived as more stable. Confidence is fragile.

Beyond tourism, the damage extends to cargo — particularly fresh produce. Kenya’s horticulture exports, especially flowers, fruits and vegetables, depend on timely air freight.

When planes don’t fly, produce perishes, contracts are breached, and international buyers begin to look elsewhere. Regaining that market trust is far harder than losing it.

Then there is our position as a regional hub. Nairobi has built a reputation as the gateway to East and Central Africa. Prolonged disruption undermines that standing and affects connecting passengers, regional trade and our national carrier.

The unions have indicated that the salaries of Air Traffic Controllers were last reviewed some fifteen years ago. If this is accurate, it raises serious concerns.

In such a specialised and safety-critical profession, allowing compensation issues to remain unaddressed for that long suggests a lapse in proactive governance by both the board and management.

These are matters that should have been anticipated and resolved long before they escalated into a national crisis.

Labour disputes are not unique to Kenya — they happen globally. But in essential services like air navigation, we must be proactive.

Structured engagement, periodic reviews, and early intervention are necessary to mitigate exactly this kind of risk.

The economic cost of this strike will not end when operations resume. The losses in bookings, the dent in confidence, the potential shift of export markets, and the reputational damage to Kenya as a dependable destination will be felt for some time.

Your Excellency, this situation calls for urgent intervention and steady leadership to restore operations swiftly and to ensure that a sustainable solution is put in place.

Kenya cannot afford repeated disruptions of this magnitude, particularly at a time when we are striving to grow tourism, exports and investor confidence.

I remain hopeful that this matter can be resolved quickly and that stronger safeguards will be established to prevent a recurrence.

Respectfully.

Mohammed Hersi is a Tourism Stakeholder and the immediate past chairman of the Kenya Tourism Federation