KENYA: Kenya Airways Preparing For Flights To New York

Officials from the US security department met Kenya’s aviation regulator last month to confirm that all the safety measures are in place ahead of the scheduled direct flights to New York later in the year.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had a session with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) with the view to ensuring that the measures that were put in place to facilitate direct flights between the two countries are still intact.

KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe said the officials were impressed with the progress and they have given Kenya a clean bill of health.

Officials from TSA were here to check our compliance in regard to Category 1 status and they were impressed with the measures that have been put in place, said Mr Kibe.

This comes at a time when Kenya Airports Authority is waiting for response on some items that the TSA wanted corrected before the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is given the Last Point of Departure (LPD) status.

The first audit was done last year in December but Kenya did not pass the test as there were some measures that needed to be put in place to meet the compliance level.

The KAA said early this year that they had carried out corrective measures as requested by TSA, and that they were waiting for their decision.

Some of the things that the audit focused on include documentation of the processes at the airport, security perimeter at the facility and access control measures enacted by the authority.

The LPD status will allow Kenya Airways and any other airline that has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly directly to the US from Nairobi.

The national carrier received exemption authority from the DOT last year, allowing it to commence flights to the United States provided it secures clearance from the FAA and other applicable State agencies.

JKIA was in February last year given Category One status after several audit processes by FAA that had seen Kenya fail to meet a number of reviews, delaying the earlier commencement date of August 2016.

The key item on audit was the security measures that Kenya had implemented to guarantee direct flights between the two countries.

After getting LDP clearance, the last remaining thing will be the granting of Kenya Airways or any other airline an Air Operator Certificate by FAA after inspecting the carrier’s equipment and facilities, which is expected to be this month.



Tourism Observer

KENYA: Kenya Airways Has Shortage Of 40 Pilots, Cost Of Training Is Not Affordable For Many Kenyans

Flying schools in the country are largely empty because of high fees even as Kenya faces a shortage of commercial aircraft operators to meet demand.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), says the country currently has 11,000 pilots but only 9,000 have commercial licences to fly aircraft.

KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe says Kenya Airways, alone has a shortage of 40 pilots.

Training of pilots is very expensive and that is the reason why there are not enough pilots in the country, said Mr Kibe.

There are 19 training institutions for pilots that have been licensed by the agency but they are hardly getting enough students as only 100 young people show up every year.

For one-and-a- half year training, Mr Kibe says the institutions charge up to Sh3 million, which is way beyond the reach of many talented but needy students.

Over the years we have realised that there are talented students out there who want to study aviation, however, their dreams are hindered by the cost of training, he said.

Mr Kibe emphasized that the authority is coming up with a proposal to the government, which if accepted, will introduce a levy that will be used to meet the fees for needy students.

Having enough and well trained personnel is key for direct flights for a category one status that Kenya is seeking to allow for direct flights between Kenya and USA.

Kenya Airways has moved a step closer to operating direct flights to the United States after the Department of Transportation (DoT) granted it the first set of licences.

Kenya Aiways has received an exemption authority from the DoT, allowing it to commence flights to the US provided it secures clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other applicable State agencies.

The DoT has also tentatively granted Kenya Airways a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP), which is again subject to clearance from several US security, aviation and border agencies.




Tourism Observer

KENYA: Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Investigates Jambojet

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority is investigating Jambojet after thousands of the domestic airline’s passengers were flown in a large plane that could not land at Ukunda Airstrip in Kwale County.

The airline, owned by national carrier Kenya Airways, was faulted for diverting the plane to Moi International Airport, Mombasa, and transporting the passengers by road amid the hectic activity of crossing the Likoni Channel by ferry.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) Director-General Gilbert Macharia Kibe said the investigations will also cover overbooking, which led to passengers being stranded for days at various airports.

In a December 30, 2016 letter to Kenya Coast Tourism Association chairman Mohamed Hersi, Mr Kibe stated that the KCAA will also investigate delays and cancellations of flights to Malindi and Lamu and Ukunda at the eleventh hour without properly informing the affected passengers.

“We at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority would like to assure you and all other stakeholders that we are investigating the matter and, if the airline is found culpable, we shall take the necessary action,” said Mr Kibe in a letter signed on his behalf by someone identified as "S Wesechere".

There were widespread complaints by hoteliers, who were dealt a major blow after thousands of domestic tourists failed to reach their destinations.

Thousands of passengers flying to Lamu for the annual Maulid Festival had to cancel their trips as others arrived days late.

Others opted to travel by public service vehicles plying between Mombasa and Lamu, a journey that takes almost nine hours due to security checkpoints between Garsen in Tana River County and Mokowe in Lamu.

Some passengers who were to fly from Malindi to Nairobi were ferried by road to Mombasa to board flights at Moi International.

Mr Hersi had challenged the KCAA to ensure airlines operated by the rules and regulations so as to ensure tourism and other sectors of the economy that depend on the aviation industry proceed uninterrupted.

“To KCAA, we have 30,000-plus beds to fill, we have 100,000 Kenyans who earn both directly and indirectly from tourism at the Kenya Coast. As a regulator, why do you allow such sloppy service?” Mr Hersi asked.

He added: “You’re equal on matters of communication when you gave mobile telephone companies sleepless nights for dropped calls and other mundane stuff, while you guys sit pretty when holidays are messed up, connecting flight to international flights are all messed. You have a duty and a role to play. Take action,”

In an interview with the Nation, Mr Hersi said it was not their wish for Jambojet operations to be suspended by the KCAA.

In a statement, Jambojet customer service manager Mary Mwangi said the carrier’s smaller aircraft could not handle the high volume of bookings.

“We apologise to all concerned for the unpleasant nature of this entire experience and assure all that we are doing our utmost to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” said Ms Mwangi.

Two months ago, Jambojet announced additional flights to all destinations in the country, including Lamu, ahead of the festive season.

Jambojet Chief Executive Officer Willem Hondius said: “We are cognizant of the increased demand for flights during the festive season as people go on holiday or travel back home."

KENYA: Fastjet Confirms License To Be Obtained After Payment

It is now ascertained that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority did indeed write a letter to Fastjet, confirming that they will be issued with an air service license, once the required payment of US Dollars 1.600 has been made.

Dated 08th of October under reference number KCAA/ASL/3Vol.9 (98) does the letter also confirm that the application was launched with the KCAA on 25th of August 2014, i.e. nearly 14 months ago, equally exposing the extraordinary length of time passed before the regulators found it appropriate to respond to the company and finally grant them an ASL. The source close to the KCAA also indicated that payment has since then been received, though no receipt number of the transaction was available.

Since the application was initially submitted have other Kenyan registered airlines obtained their ASL much earlier, suggesting either a deliberate benching of the Fastjet application or else better ‘connections’ by locally owned aviation firms who applied later but got their approval much sooner to go through the process of attaining an Air Operator Certificate and then commencing flights.

Among the routes Fastjet will be able to fly, as and when that happens in Kenya, are flights from Nairobi to Mombasa but also Kisumu and Eldoret among others. International routes were not granted by KCAA, another pointer to the extreme bias this application was and continues to be subjected to.

The aircraft mentioned on the application are Fastjet’s workhorse Airbus A319 but notably also 50 seater Bombardier CRJ’s 100 and 200.