CAA LICENSING MEETING SET FOR 24TH NOVEMBER
The upcoming licensing committee meeting of the Civil Aviation Authoritys Board of Directors will hear applications from 12 airlines on the 24th of November, when one of the rare meetings will take place at the Imperial Royale Hotel. Unlike elsewhere in the region, where for instance in Kenya these meetings are convened at quarterly intervals due to the volume of applications received, in Uganda at best such meetings take place once a year. Urgent applications may in between licensing committee meetings be granted administrative approvals by the regulators but applicants will then have to appear at the next public hearing to submit and defend their application.
Amongst the five renewals will be Air Ugandas air service license, which is generally considered a foregone conclusion, considering it is Ugandas sole international airline, while others are Ndege Juu, based at the Kajjansi airfield and Uganda Air Cargo Corporation amongst others.
New applications have been lodged with the CAA by a number of aspiring air operators, several for domestic and regional charters proposing to use Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft, while Jubba Airlines from Kenya is seeking a license to start non-scheduled passenger and cargo services using a first generation B737. Other applicants for non-scheduled licenses equally have listed ancient aircraft of the DC9 or B727 types, which while in theory if well maintained can still be airworthy but generally speak volumes about the capacity of such wannabe operators using the cheapest birds available with operating cost and fuel burns almost certain to inflict some serious financial harm on the bottom lines of such companies.
The hearing is public, i.e. open for observers and media representatives and will as usual be preceded by a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Civil Aviation Authority. Visit www.caa.co.ug for more information about Ugandas aviation sector.
