The action comes days after the expiry of a two-week’s strike notice issued by the pilots’ union, who are demanding that the airline resumes contributions to their retirement fund.

The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) says their members will not report for duty at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi from Saturday 06:00 local time.

It's the largest airport in the country and the fourth busiest in Africa.

“Kenya Airways Management’s actions have left us with no other option,” reads the statement signed by union by general secretary Murithi Nyagah.

The union’s 14-day strike notice expired on Wednesday, but operations at the airline remained uninterrupted on Thursday.

Kenya Airways officials are yet to respond to the escalation of calls for a strike.

Earlier in the week, the company said it was unable to resume contributions to the pilots’ provident fund until 2023.