Government responds after passengers overpower police after protests break out at JKIA (VIDEO)
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Police deployed at JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) after passengers overpowered officials after protests broke out
Police deployed at JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) after passengers overpowered officials after protests broke out.
Following a protest by clients whose tickets for a trip to Nigeria were abruptly canceled, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) was compelled to station security officials outside the departure of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday.
According to sources, the KAA communicated to the affected passengers that their flight would be delayed due to the late arrival of an aircraft arriving from Dubai.
However, the passengers voiced their dissatisfaction with the timing and delivery of this information, which sparked a wave of ire and protest.
Most of the passengers felt that the authorities should have informed them sooner of the flight delay, so as to avoid disrupting their schedules.
Due to the protests, the Kenya Airports Authority was forced to call in police officers attached to the Kenya Airports Police Unit (KAPU) who quickly stepped in to quell the disquiet.
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However, despite attempts to contain the situation, the protesting passengers overpowered the officers.
“Most of the passengers were Nigerian and weren’t happy with the communication. They became angry and vented out their frustrations,” noted one JKIA official.
The flight operator, however, issued an apology to the passengers and extended a gesture to them by booking a hotel for them to spend the night as it rescheduled the flight.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was also quick to clarify the true position after a viral video led to incorrect speculation that the passengers were protesting against requirements at the KRA customs checkpoint.
KRA distanced itself from the protest after some online users started propagating the false information.
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