Long-awaited direct flights to US may take off by August after audit

Long-awaited direct flights from Kenya to the United States of America could take off by August.

Kenya Civil Aviation (KCAA) acting director general Joseph Chebungei on Tuesday said the final technical audit by American regulators would be done in July, after which Kenya is likely to have met all the conditions for establishing direct flights between the two countries.

“Direct flights to the USA was a target for us this financial year. We have had to review our aviation laws in line with recommendations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of America. What is remaining is for Parliament to make the amendments, which I hope will be concluded soon,” Mr Chebungei said.

CATEGORY 1 STATUS

After the final technical audit in June, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport could be granted ‘Category 1’ status, after which direct flights could begin in August.

Mr Chebungei was speaking on the sidelines of a send-off luncheon for the KCAA board of directors whose term of office expired last month.

 The changes to be passed by Parliament in the Civil Aviation Act of 2013 include the establishment and realignment of an aviation tribunal, enhanced staff capacity, especially of aviation inspectors, and amendments to allow Kenyan-registered aircraft to be similarly regulated in other nations, as the KCAA does.

US aviation officials were scheduled to conduct a final review of security arrangements at JKIA last month and this month as part of their process of deciding whether to allow direct flights between Kenya and the US.

In February, US Chamber of Commerce director of African Affairs Danielle Walker told the Nation there had been talks between the chamber and President Uhuru Kenyatta focused on establishing direct links between the two countries.

“It seems like the political will is there on the Kenyan side to resolve issues that led the US to cancel the planned start of direct flights nearly six years ago,” Ms Walker said.

Kenya is ranked fifth in Africa in safety compliance levels — behind Gambia, Mauritania, South Africa and Egypt.

The country’s aviation authority is targeting FAA IASA Category 1 this year to open up business and trade opportunities using direct flights.

Kenya has passed International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit with a score of 78.42 per cent (up from 66 per cent in 2013), placing it among the top quartile of states globally and among the top four in Africa.

Once established, the aviation tribunal will hear and determine complaints in the sector, a role previously done by the board. One such matter is likely to be the contentious Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Kenya and Tanzania that is linked to the delayed licensing of Fastjet.

RECEIVED COMPLAINTS

Last year, KCAA received complaints from Kenya Airways and other players, scuttling hopes for approval for the budget airline to operate local and international flights from Kenya.

The move was associated with the likelihood that Fastjet would be stiff completion to KQ’s low-cost carrier JamboJet that flies between Mombasa, Eldoret, Nairobi and Mombasa, some of the routes Fastjet was also eyeing.

But Mr Chebungei said the airline only needed to satisfy the BASA condition of having over 50 per cent local ownership before being allowed to operate between the East African neighbours.

JKIA is undergoing a one-year runway renovation, leading to closures between midnight and six in the morning.

Last year, the Kenya Airports Authority spent Sh7.2 billion on building of Terminal 1A (previously Terminal 4), expected to handle 2.5 million passengers and ease congestion at East Africa’s main air travel hub. Kenya also invested Sh1.3 billion in new security equipment for JKIA.

Direct flights to the US are expected to boost trade between the two nations which stood at about Sh184 billion last year.