Kenya to wait longer for US final word on direct flights
A section of the JKIA. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The FAA now wants Kenya to implement a new system for licensing engineers before it is finally accorded the long awaited Category One status.
Kenya will have to wait for another three months to know the fate of direct flights to the US after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced a new requirement in what was supposed to be the last audit.
The FAA now wants Kenya to implement a new system for licensing engineers before it is finally accorded the long awaited Category One status.
The officials are expected to visit the county next April to ascertain Kenya’s progress in meeting the requirements before making the final decision on the matter.
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director-general Gilbert Kibe said FAA officials were happy with the progress so far when they submitted their review report on the latest audit.
“FAA were very impressed with Kenya and found we are following best practice in safety oversight.
“They requested we sort out matters and they will return in April to finalise on Category One,” said Mr Kibe.
“They wish for us to implement a new system of licensing engineers. This requires a new process, procedure and updating relevant regulations and that is why it will take up to March.”
He said Kenya was set to implement the new system of engineering by next November, but now they will have to effect it before March as a prerequisite for getting the Category One status.
“We had planned to have the new licensing system by November next year. It is okay with Kenya to implement sooner rather than later, so we have no issue with it,” he said.
The FAA officials were in the country last month for the final review and the outcome of the audit was to be issued within a month.
After the audit, the FAA was to report to the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA), which is expected to set a date for the final audit of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi before it is declared a Category One status.
Under the IASA programme, the FAA determines whether a country’s oversight of its airlines that operate or seek to operate in the US or codeshare with an American carrier complies with the International Civil Aviation Organisation safety standards.
Kenya has been implementing a raft of recommendations by the US government to enhance security, among them separation of passenger arrival and departure terminals, clearing the flight path and fencing off the airport.
New arrival terminals 1E and 1A are currently operational at the JKIA, marking a major step in the ongoing expansion and modernisation of the region’s busiest airport where passenger arrivals are expected climb to 864,959 this year from 823,770 in 2015.
The audit was initially set for completion by August to facilitate direct flights by September, but that was delayed as Parliament delayed to finalise legislation as required by the FAA.
The National Assembly has so far passed the Civil Aviation Amendment Act, 2016, a legal framework that President Uhuru Kenyatta endorsed in September.
