Gunship
22nd Oct 2002, 06:23
The Link (http://allafrica.com/stories/200210180442.html)
JKIA Gets Tough On Foreign Aircraft
The East African (Nairobi)
Chris Mburu, Special Correspondent - Nairobi
A BELGIUM-BASED cargo airline was last week stopped from flying into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi while another cargo carrier is under investigation for setting up base at the airport without paying the requisite fees to the government.
TNT Airways was denied a third "ad-hoc" landing licence by the Civil Aviation Board after competitors at the airport complained to the board that a number of airlines had been operating without licences while others did not pay "foreign registered aircraft" fees.
"We have declined to give them another licence because they seem to be making it a habit," Chief air Transport Officer at the Ministry of Transport and Communications Charles Kimemia told The EastAfrican last week.
Mr Kimemia said the Civil Aviation Board is "checking to find out" the status of MK Airlines who he said "seems to have overstayed at JKIA, which is not the country they are based at."
"They have no basis staying at JKIA," he said.
Registered in Accra, Ghana, MK Airlines is owned by Mike Krugger, a Zimbabwean national now living in the UK.
A third cargo airline, DAS Ltd from Entebbe, Uganda, has been invoiced for an estimated $1 million-plus on accumulated "foreign registered aircraft fees" for having set up camp at JKIA without a licence from the Civil Aviation Board.
However, Mr Kimemia declined to confirm the amount.
Mr Kimemia said foreign registered aircraft using Kenya as a base are supposed to apply for certificates of registration from the Civil Aviation Board at $3,200 per aircraft per month so as to become registered in Kenya.
Kenyan registered aircraft are followed up by the board to ensure that they comply with international and local standards of aircraft maintenance and regulations.
But foreign registered aircraft seen to be camping (flying away and returning for parking and servicing at JKIA, for instance) pay a fee to the government to "discourage them from setting up base in Kenya in case they are forgotten there."
TNT Airways is based at Leige Airport in northeast Belgium.
The cargo airline started flights into and out of the airport on September 29, using a Boeing 747-400 freighter leased from Atlas Air, an American all-cargo airline.
The TNT aircraft operated into and out of Nairobi a second time on October 6 and was due to come back on October 13.
However, Mr Kimemia said the government had issued TNT "ad hoc licences" that clear aircraft landings per flight depending on situations at the airport.
"We issue such licences to bring in or fly out special equipment where other aircraft might not have adequate facilities like a big enough door, or to stop a cargo crisis," he said.
He admitted that part of the frustrations of airline operators were caused by the fact that the Civil Aviation Board had not held a licensing meeting since the 78th boarding meeting aborted last July 25 before any applications on the agenda could be discussed.
TNT Airways had applied for a new air service licence and its application was among those listed for hearing on July 25.
Since the meeting ended in disarray before transacting any business, the board did not consider TNT's application or any other application.
However, Mr Kimemia denied that a fourth airline, CAL of Israel, continues to fly without a licence.
"CAL is not flying here. What you are seeing is El Al, the national carrier of Israel, who have been flying here for decades. They are merely leasing the aircraft, with CAL livery, from CAL," he said.
A year ago, the Tel Aviv-based private cargo airline started flying to JKIA.
The operations were stopped for one day by the CAB on December 31, 2001, following complaints by its competitors.
A few days later, Transport and Communications Minister Musalia Mudavadi allowed CAL's flights to resume after pressure from the Israel government.
JKIA Gets Tough On Foreign Aircraft
The East African (Nairobi)
Chris Mburu, Special Correspondent - Nairobi
A BELGIUM-BASED cargo airline was last week stopped from flying into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi while another cargo carrier is under investigation for setting up base at the airport without paying the requisite fees to the government.
TNT Airways was denied a third "ad-hoc" landing licence by the Civil Aviation Board after competitors at the airport complained to the board that a number of airlines had been operating without licences while others did not pay "foreign registered aircraft" fees.
"We have declined to give them another licence because they seem to be making it a habit," Chief air Transport Officer at the Ministry of Transport and Communications Charles Kimemia told The EastAfrican last week.
Mr Kimemia said the Civil Aviation Board is "checking to find out" the status of MK Airlines who he said "seems to have overstayed at JKIA, which is not the country they are based at."
"They have no basis staying at JKIA," he said.
Registered in Accra, Ghana, MK Airlines is owned by Mike Krugger, a Zimbabwean national now living in the UK.
A third cargo airline, DAS Ltd from Entebbe, Uganda, has been invoiced for an estimated $1 million-plus on accumulated "foreign registered aircraft fees" for having set up camp at JKIA without a licence from the Civil Aviation Board.
However, Mr Kimemia declined to confirm the amount.
Mr Kimemia said foreign registered aircraft using Kenya as a base are supposed to apply for certificates of registration from the Civil Aviation Board at $3,200 per aircraft per month so as to become registered in Kenya.
Kenyan registered aircraft are followed up by the board to ensure that they comply with international and local standards of aircraft maintenance and regulations.
But foreign registered aircraft seen to be camping (flying away and returning for parking and servicing at JKIA, for instance) pay a fee to the government to "discourage them from setting up base in Kenya in case they are forgotten there."
TNT Airways is based at Leige Airport in northeast Belgium.
The cargo airline started flights into and out of the airport on September 29, using a Boeing 747-400 freighter leased from Atlas Air, an American all-cargo airline.
The TNT aircraft operated into and out of Nairobi a second time on October 6 and was due to come back on October 13.
However, Mr Kimemia said the government had issued TNT "ad hoc licences" that clear aircraft landings per flight depending on situations at the airport.
"We issue such licences to bring in or fly out special equipment where other aircraft might not have adequate facilities like a big enough door, or to stop a cargo crisis," he said.
He admitted that part of the frustrations of airline operators were caused by the fact that the Civil Aviation Board had not held a licensing meeting since the 78th boarding meeting aborted last July 25 before any applications on the agenda could be discussed.
TNT Airways had applied for a new air service licence and its application was among those listed for hearing on July 25.
Since the meeting ended in disarray before transacting any business, the board did not consider TNT's application or any other application.
However, Mr Kimemia denied that a fourth airline, CAL of Israel, continues to fly without a licence.
"CAL is not flying here. What you are seeing is El Al, the national carrier of Israel, who have been flying here for decades. They are merely leasing the aircraft, with CAL livery, from CAL," he said.
A year ago, the Tel Aviv-based private cargo airline started flying to JKIA.
The operations were stopped for one day by the CAB on December 31, 2001, following complaints by its competitors.
A few days later, Transport and Communications Minister Musalia Mudavadi allowed CAL's flights to resume after pressure from the Israel government.