The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has with immediate effect imposed operating restrictions to twenty-nine Air Operator Certificate holders and fifteen Approved Maintenance Organizations.
The Authority’s Director General Gilbert Kibe stated that the decision of the Authority affects AOC holders and AMOs that had not completed their certification.
Kibe stated that the restriction will limit the operations of the affected AOC holders to within the boundaries of Kenya and AMOs to only offer their services to air operators that conduct domestic operations.
The Authority is mandated under the Civil Aviation Act to regulate the aviation industry in Kenya. He explained that Kenya being a signatory State to the Chicago Convention is obliged to ensure that all activities in the aviation industry are conducted in a manner consistent with the Convention and Annexes thereto.
He pointed out that air operators and Approved Maintenance Organisations have since been undergoing re-certification for those entities that existed before the coming into force of the regulations and certification for those entities that expressed interest after promulgation of regulations.
The directive comes even as the search and rescue efforts for the Cessna plane that went missing Tuesday evening with 10 people on board resumed, with the public being urged to volunteer information that can help locate the wreckage. The plane belonging to Sax and operated by East African Safari Air Express was destined for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi from Kitale when it went missing.
Aviation officials say it went off the radar shortly after 5 PM. Officials from the airline have urged the next of kin of those on board to converge at Weston Hotel for more information. The pilots lost contact with the control tower at the JKIA a few minutes before they could land.