NO CAT I CERTIFICATION AS KENYA DOES BETTER IN FAA AUDIT BUT NOT WELL ENOUGH
(Posted 28th May 2015)
The results of the April 2015 audit about Kenya’s quest to achieve the coveted FAA Cat I certification for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport have now appeared in the public domain as KAA’s Corporate Communications Department remained shtumm on the outcome.
The previous such audit in 2013 reportedly only handed Kenya a measly 66 percent rating, failing the required 80 percent margin by miles. While the present audit according to data sources saw that figure rise to over 78 percent, did Kenya nevertheless fail to reach the minimum marks to be handed the seal of approval for direct flights between the United States and Kenya.
The failure will no doubt also be a disappointment for national airline Kenya Airways, which has been eying the lucrative North American market for some time, having to leave US flights to main rival Ethiopian Airlines which just launched a service from Addis Ababa to Los Angeles, via Dublin, after already serving East Coast destinations successfully for many years.
While the Kenya Airport Authority has spend big money to build the sparkling new Terminal 1A, where a key element of the audit, passenger traffic separation between arriving and departing travelers has been achieved, does the overall situation still demand for greater efforts before perhaps at the next audit the threshold of 80 percent can finally be crossed.
Several airlines from the US, notably Delta, had planned to launch operations but failed twice to get US regulatory approval for the route, similar to America’s major freight and courier services airlines which need an intermediate stop at an approved Cat I airport to fly to Nairobi.
