NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A strike by airport workers at Kenya's main airport continued Thursday, but the East African country's flagship airline says operations are returning to normal.

Members of the National Youth Service and military personnel are performing screening and security services in response to the sudden strike Wednesday by the Kenya Aviation Workers Union.

The strike paralyzed operations at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as police fired tear gas at aviation workers striking over the proposed takeover of the Kenya Airport Authority, which runs Kenya's airports, by the country's loss-making airline, Kenya Airways.

Kenya Airways said late Wednesday that its flights "have progressively gone back to normalcy."

James Macharia, the transport secretary, called the strike "a serious criminal activity."

Some the strike leaders were detained and are set to be criminally charged.