Business Daily (Nairobi)
Wangui Maina
29 June 2008
Kenya stands to lose out internationally if the aviation sector does not embrace the new Kenya Civil Aviation Authority regulations.
The regulations, referred to as KCAR, will enable the sector to fit in with the changing aviation sector as well harmonise Kenya's laws with Uganda and Tanzania who implemented similar regulations last year.
The KCAR will replace the Kenya Air Navigation Regulation (ANR), which is not consistent with the current environment as it doesn't address changing technologies.
Kenya first amended the aviation regulations, inherited from the colonial days, in 1977 and a small section in 2002 in order to create the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), the body charged with running the aviation sector in the country.
KCAR mainly addresses the issues of personnel licensing in the sector like the training of engineers and pilots, airworthiness and aircraft operations. These three are identified as the "core" of safety in the aviation sector.
"We have to partner in this process in order to achieve the proper regulation for the sector," KCAA's director general, Mr Chris Kuto, said at a sensitisation workshop for the sector.
Once implemented the regulations will govern issues like qualifications and training of staff, the structure of operators, the type of aircraft allowed in the country and aircraft maintenance.
It will also effectively address the issues that relate to drug and alcohol abuse by safety sensitive staff who will be subjected to impromptu testing in a bid to ensure safety is not compromised at all times.
"KCAR will really address some of the issues that were not well captured before in the sector ranging from aviation English proficiency to qualifications of the staffers," Mr Kuto noted.
Airlines will be allowed to continue operating as they implement the regulations, but will not have their licences renewed on expiry if they do not meet the new requirements.
However, not everyone is happy about the new regulations. Mr Eutychus Waithaka, the chief executive of Kenya Association of Air Operators noted that the new regulations are "fundamentally flawed in their current state and many operators will be affected if they are gazetted without exceptions."
According to him, the wish to have a number of items in the regulations amended, deleted, removed or reworded has not been adhered to.
The grievances expressed by KAAO as well as Aero Club of East Africa and Aeronautical Society of Kenya has led them to take KCAA and the Ministry of Transport to court.
"When the new laws come to force airlines will not be able to make commercial trips to unmanned airstrips affecting the business of some of our members," Mr Waithaka noted.
This is expected to affect a number of operators at Wilson Airport and will have a major impact on commercial flights to some tourist destinations, especially game parks, Mr Waithaka added.
The aggrieved members also note that if not implemented, the country's aviation sector will operate in vacuum as the ANRs have served the country well till now and can continue to do so as the matter awaits resolution.
Nickson Ooko, Fly 540's operations director, told Business Daily that KCAR would not "jeopardise" the airline business.
"Yes, the regulations could lead to changes in operations but at the end of the day they will help build the aviation sector in the country," he added.
Efforts to craft and implement the new regulations started in 2004 following the last ICAO audit. KCAR was published in 2007 and became effective in May 2008 with players being given three months to fully implement them.
The move to ensure the country adapts the new regulations by August is pegged on an ICAO audit that will be carried out in November this year, which will mainly be looking at regulatory aspects.
These mandatory audits are carried out every four years and are made public internationally.
The findings of the audit will also play a major role in helping the country achieve Category one status with the US's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that allows direct flight to the US.
ICAO is also expected to undertake an audit from Monday, June 30th, mainly looking at issues of security oversight, this is also carried out every four years.
Failure to meet minimum requirements as stipulated by ICAO can lead to Kenya being blacklisted in the international arena.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Daily. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
