Kenya Airways operating minima
Can anyone help me understand an issue with a Kenya Airways flight departing from London Heathrow last November? I was a passenger on the flight which was cancelled with KQ claiming the weather conditions were below operating minima. However, other airlines seemed to be operating normally. For the record the RVR at the time was being given as 400m in fog. The flight ended up being delayed for 24 hours and I am trying to claim €600 compensation under the current EU regulations. KQ is refuting the claim, saying the circumstances were beyond their control. This is their reply:
"I appreciate that there were some other airlines which were operating in and out of London Heathrow. Each airline is approved by their Civil Aviation Authority to operate to minimum visibility requirements; this approval is also aircraft type specific.
When operating in conditions such as heavy fog, Kenya Airways is guided by the prevailing airport instruction on Low Visibility Procedures and approvals by the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority. The visibility was so low, that the conditions were below our approved limits."
Surely this is wrong. Kenya Airways crews presumably operate to the same ICAO standards as those of other airlines. Obviously the Boeing 787 can be flown in Cat 3 conditions, so why can't a fully-rated flight crew take off with 400m vis? Or does the airline itself impose lower limits than it's national safety authority?
Last edited by chalkhill-blue; 26th Feb 2016 at 17:24.
Reason: syntax