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On 27th February 2017, Kenya was granted Category 1 status by
the Federal Aviation Authority of the United States of America hence
paving the way for direct flights between the two countries. A Category 1
status rating means that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA)
meets International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. The
country has been granted the status after complying with international
safety standards under the agency’s International Aviation Safety
Assessment (IASA) program.
IASA assessments determine compliance with these international standards by focusing on eight critical elements (CEs) of an effective aviation safety oversight authority as specified in ICAO’s Safety Oversight Manual.
The IASA program focuses on a country’s ability to
adhere to international aviation safety standards and recommended
practices contained in Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing), Annex 6 (Operation
of Aircraft), and Annex 8 (Airworthiness of Aircraft) to the
International Convention on Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
This Article briefly looks at the content of the
CE’s that Kenya has been evaluated upon and satisfactorily met in order
for the FAA to grant Category 1 status.
- (CE-1) Primary aviation legislation;
This CE assesses whether the country
specifically promulgates primary aviation legislation (and amendment
procedures) to enable it to implement the provisions of the Chicago
Convention and its Annexes. In order to meet the CE, Kenya has recently
passed the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act, 2016 which includes
amendments related to the Chicago Convention and its Annexes.
- (CE-2) Specific operating regulations;
This section generally looks at the
regulations adopted to ensure that international aircraft operations and
airworthiness standards are met. The CE also assesses operations and
maintenance crew licensing.
- (CE-3) State civil aviation system and safety oversight functions;
This CE looks at the name of the authority
charged with civil aviation matters, its organizational structure and
roles of each department established thereunder. The CE also evaluates
the operations and the airworthiness inspection organizations as
structured and whether the authority delegates any safety oversight
functions. The CE further evaluates the number and composition of
technical staff, technical support staff and clerical staff in the
authority and also the administrative support and equipment available to
the staff to accomplish certification and continued surveillance
activities.
- (CE-4) Technical personnel qualification and training;
The CE assesses whether the authority
operates a training centre and also how the resultant written
theoretical knowledge examinations are prepared, administered and
evaluated. Further it addresses flight test and other practical skills
examinations; medical examiners; operations and airworthiness
inspectorates and the airworthiness engineering division.
- (CE-5) Technical guidance, tools and the provision of safety critical information;
This CE assesses the access to technical guidance and access to airworthiness documentation.
- (CE-6) Licensing, certification, authorization, and approval obligations;
This CE assesses among other things, the Air
Operator Certificate (AOC) regulatory background; the AOC application
and inspection process prior to certification; the aircraft lease,
charter and interchange arrangements; the licensing or rating
application and process; and exchange of continuing airworthiness
information.
- (CE-7) Surveillance obligations;
This CE assesses surveillance of certificated
operations and their maintenance arrangements; surveillance of aircraft
maintenance organisations; surveillance of medical assessments, and the
surveillance of aviation training organisations.
- (CE-8) Resolution of safety concerns.
The CE assesses the procedure to be followed
when there are deficiencies found in the certification, certificated
personnel, and inspection of foreign air operators. The assessment also
includes what action is to be taken by the authority if the deficiencies
are not corrected within a reasonable period of time.
Conclusion
The CEs are redacted by the KCAA into the various
standard checklist forms and an in-country assessment conducted by a
specially trained IASA team consisting of a team leader, at least one
aviation safety inspector in operations and maintenance, and an FAA
international aviation law attorney. The IASA team may rely on other
relevant sources in conducting their assessment.
Upon conclusion of the in-country assessment
visit, the assessment team returns to the U.S, compiles findings,
conducts any final discussions necessary and produces a detailed written
report. Once the report is shared with other U.S. Government officials
and the KCAA, the FAA publicly releases the assessment results and posts
the rating in their website.
The above process has been conducted and has culminated in Kenya being granted a Category 1 rating.
With the Category 1 rating, Kenyan air carriers
that are able to secure the requisite FAA and U.S DOT (Department of
Transport) authority can establish service to the United States and
carry the code of U.S. carriers. [1]
Disclaimer: This article has
been prepared for informational purposes only and is not legal advice.
This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not
constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Nothing on this article is
intended to guaranty, warranty, or predict the outcome of a particular
case and should not be construed as such a guaranty, warranty, or
prediction. The authors are not responsible for any actions (or lack
thereof) taken as a result of relying on or in any way using information
contained in this article and in no event shall be liable for any
damages resulting from reliance on or use of this information. Readers
should take specific advice from a qualified professional when dealing
with specific situations.