US now denies campaign to blacklist Kenya airspace

The American Government has formally denied reports exclusively obtained from official government correspondences that it is behind a campaign to have Kenyan airspace declared a conflict zone. In a statement circulated to newsrooms, the American Embassy in Kenya said the listing of The Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for Kenya on the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) Conflict Zone Information Repository (CZIR) website was for the purposes of information only.

"The Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for Kenya issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on February 26, 2016 is part of a periodic review of existing NOTAMs. The FAA revised and re-issued an existing Kenyan airspace NOTAM that has been continuously in place since 2003. It is not based on any new threat information. The subsequent listing of this NOTAM on the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) Conflict Zone Information Repository (CZIR) website was for purposes of information only, and is consistent with US practice for other NOTAMs. Neither the NOTAM nor the website directs or suggests that airlines avoid Kenyan airspace," the statement reads in part.