NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya’s aviation regulator has imposed operating restrictions on 29 Air Operator Certificate holders and 15 Approved Maintanance Organisations (AMOs).

The move by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is aimed at ensuring conformity and it affects those that had not completed certification.

Authority’s Director General Gilbert Kibe said 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 holder of the affected AOCs will cease all international operations until such a time that they have completed the certification process to the satisfaction of the Authority and in strict compliance with the applicable regulations,” he said.

Kibe explained 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.

“The provisions contained in ICAO Annexes Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) have been adopted as national requirement in the Kenya Civil Aviation Regulations
(KCARs). Certification of Air Operators, Approved Maintenance Organizations therefore, as a legal requirement became applicable in 2008 when the initial sets of KCARs was promulgated,” he said.

He added AMOs 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 Authority will continue to process the certification of the affected operators as is our mandate and urge their cooperation at all times. The travelling public and users of air services are reassured of the safety of air operations and the actions taken by the Authority are aimed at enhancing compliance with regulations as well as fostering the safety and security of the aviation industry in Kenya.”

The directive came in the wake of the crash of a plane as it prepared to descend to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday.