Kenya lied as more audits needed for KQ to be allowed to fly to the US

[Geza Ulole]

Final audit hurdle to be taken ahead of #KenyaAirways’ flights to [HASHTAG]#JFK[/HASHTAG]

MAKE OR BREAK AUDIT TO GIVE GREEN LIGHT – OR NOT – FOR NEW YORK FLIGHTS

(Posted 25th April 2018)



Kenya Airways is now just two steps away from launching their planned daily services to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, one hurdle in their own hands to master and one beyond their control as Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and owners / operators Kenya Airport Authority are coming under scrutiny.

Kenya Airways’ last remaining task is almost a shoe in as the airline was already granted exemption authority by US regulators and now only needs their Foreign Air Operators Certificate to be formally issued.

More challenging will be KAA’s audit which has been set for late May when the facility will undergo inspection by a team of US Transportation Security Administration officials. They will keenly eye areas which have in the past caused Kenya given the thumbs down and it remains to be seen if JKIA will pass the threshold set to be given final clearance as a last point of departure for direct and nonstop flights to the United States.

With the US having become Kenya’s number one source market for tourists will the daily Boeing B787-8 service add some 85.000+ seats into the market, cutting the journey time by at least 7 hours if not more, depending on what European, Gulf or other African waypoint travelers so far use to connect to Nairobi.

As the entire Eastern African region is set to hugely benefit from Kenya Airways’ planned US flights – much of the international traffic into other Eastern African airports like Entebbe, Kigali, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar routes via Nairobi – will all eyes from the region be on both airline and airport authority to see them succeed and make travel to and from the United States substantially shorter.

Final audit hurdle to be taken ahead of #KenyaAirways’ flights to [HASHTAG]#JFK[/HASHTAG]

 

[NairobiWalker]

Watu wanaumwa.

 

[mwaswast]

Wivu galore.

 

[Geza Ulole]

Watu wanaumwa.

Cargo operator’s status at JKIA raises red flag on airport security
By Vincent Achuka
Published: Feb 25th 2018 at 15:15, Updated: February 25th 2018 at 15:22

Kenya Airways has written to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority over new airline’s operations at its former warehouse [Courtesy]
A cargo operator has been granted access to the airside at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi under controversial circumstances, the Sunday Standard can report.

The decision, we understand, may have been made in order to keep miraa exports flowing to Somalia just two weeks after an aircraft was grounded for flouting flight security rules.

Jetways has for the last one week been flying miraa to destinations in Somalia even before the setting up of its premises at the Kenya Airfreight Handling Ltd (KAHL) centre is complete, potentially violating aviation rules.

ALSO READ: How to apply VAT to the digital economy

Our investigative team established that the company’s warehouse was yet to have a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs centre as required by law on bonded warehouses for monitoring what is going into or out of the country through the company.

When Sunday Standard sought the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority’s (KCAA) take on the issue, its director general, Gilbert Kibe, promised to respond to the issues at a later date.

“Let us talk Monday morning,” he said in a text message last night.

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However, following the complaints, the Sunday Standard’s Investigation’s desk set out to determine their veracity and several visits to the cargo section of Kenya’s biggest and busiest airport revealed security lapses.

Our teams witnessed truckloads of miraa arriving every day between 2am and 4am, which are then packed before being loaded to planes without screening by KRA officers.

Bonded warehouses are required by law to have KRA centres within their premises, and officers from this desk are among the few officers allowed access to the airside, according to industry insiders. This is because the airside, which is the section where planes are loaded, is considered international space.

ALSO READ: KRA intercepts gold worth Sh100 million at JKIA

It takes rigorous assessment by both local and international aviation regulatory bodies to get clearance to set up an airside shed. This includes getting the coveted RA3 status issued to airlines that are allowed to send cargo to European Union countries after passing security assessments.

“Air carriers that fly cargo or mail from a non-EU airport to an EU airport must ensure that all cargo and mail carried to the EU is physically screened or comes from a secure supply chain validated according to the EU regulations,” says EU aviation security validation rules.

Only Kenya Airways, Siginon Freight, Swissport International, DHL and Africa Flight Services (AFS) have officially achieved all the requirements needed in order to get access to the airside. All the other Regulated Agents (RAs), according to aviation parlance, pass their goods through these five operators.

In spite of these strict requirements, our investigations team was able to walk with ease through Jetways’ premises and continue all the way to the company’s airside.

Its door access control systems was yet to be set up as required by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), and it had no separation for imports and exports. Yet the company has for the past five days been shipping goods out of the country.

ALSO READ: Irony of low tax revenues amid increased alcohol consumption

“Before landing obviously the control tower will ask the pilot their identity, but then, what prevents them from saying I am with the first officer alone because there is no mechanism to verify?” said a source working at the cargo centre.

KAHL, where Jetways has set up its cargo handling facility, was until July last year under full control of Kenya Airways. It is owned by KAA who in turn decide whom to rent it out to. The section of the warehouse rented out to Jetways was originally being used by KQ for their mail service.

On Wednesday, Kenya Airways wrote to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) over activities at its former warehouse which the national carrier say contravene set regulations.

By the time of going to press, Kenya Airways had not responded to a series of questions we sent to them. Sunday Standard was, however, able to independently obtain a letter the airline wrote to KAA raising concerns similar to those brought to our attention earlier.

“Control of the airside access is now in the hands of the authority, which has in turn leased it to a different entity. Consequently, our span on control as a Regulated Agent at KAHL has shrunk,” said the letter signed by Martin Kampala, the KQ security manager JKIA and cargo.

“Note that as a registered RA3, we currently share a common border with Jetways and we have ceded control of airside access to the area under their charge. Should you have any queries pertaining to regulatory compliance for the same area, please deal directly with the new occupants,” said KQ.

Further investigations revealed that the national carrier has now opted to put up a wall between them and Jetways, in what industry insiders said was an attempt at separating their base of operationsfrom the new player.

KAA has denied getting any application for the construction of a wall at the KAHL to separate Kenya Airways from Jetways. This is despite the fact that Sunday Standard had earlier obtained the approval letter by KAA not only authorising Kenya Airways to construct the wall, but also proposing modifications.

ALSO READ: Which caddie shall take home a million shillings at the Kenya Open?

“We have approved the construction to proceed as per the approved design with the following comments: Make the second level of the wall of a lighter material but secure and can allow for cross ventilation and light,” said the letter sent on Thursday by Dokers Chemo, the acting airport manager.

But despite all these, KAA -- which is in charge of running all the public airports in the country -- referred us to KCAA, whose officials declined to talk to us earlier, before Director General Kibe promised to engage us on Monday.

“KAA allocates space to KCAA licensed and certified operators to carry out their cargo operations. The security certification is done by the regulator,” said KAA.

Cargo operator’s status at JKIA raises red flag on airport security

 

[Geza Ulole]

Wivu galore.

Wait May for a shock of ur life!

 

[mwaswast]

Wait May for a shock of ur life!

Nothing can shock me more than the 1.5 trillion😀😀😀

 

[joto la jiwe]

Nothing can shock me more than the 1.5 trillion😀😀😀

If you were not shocked when Kenya was given a failed state status, nothing can shock you.

 

[Tony254]

If you were not shocked when Kenya was given a failed state status, nothing can shock you.

By who? World bank? Imf? UN? OECD? . Those are the big boys when it comes to economic issues. Hao wengine ni non-entities, yaani ni organizations zinazoropokwa tu lakini hazipewi heshima na mtu yeyote.

 

[joto la jiwe]

By who? World bank? Imf? UN? OECD? . Those are the big boys when it comes to economic issues. Hao wengine ni non-entities, yaani ni organizations zinazoropokwa tu lakini hazipewi heshima na mtu yeyote.

Kila Organization ina maeneo yake ya kufanyia kazi, hizo ulizozitaja hazihusiki kabisa na kuweka madaraja ya failed state, sio kila kitu kikiwa na ugonjwa hupelekwa Hospital, gari likiharibika hupelekwa garage
Kenya falls in ‘Failed State Index’ rankings

 

[french]

Final audit hurdle to be taken ahead of #KenyaAirways’ flights to [HASHTAG]#JFK[/HASHTAG]

MAKE OR BREAK AUDIT TO GIVE GREEN LIGHT – OR NOT – FOR NEW YORK FLIGHTS

(Posted 25th April 2018)



Kenya Airways is now just two steps away from launching their planned daily services to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, one hurdle in their own hands to master and one beyond their control as Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and owners / operators Kenya Airport Authority are coming under scrutiny.

Kenya Airways’ last remaining task is almost a shoe in as the airline was already granted exemption authority by US regulators and now only needs their Foreign Air Operators Certificate to be formally issued.

More challenging will be KAA’s audit which has been set for late May when the facility will undergo inspection by a team of US Transportation Security Administration officials. They will keenly eye areas which have in the past caused Kenya given the thumbs down and it remains to be seen if JKIA will pass the threshold set to be given final clearance as a last point of departure for direct and nonstop flights to the United States.

With the US having become Kenya’s number one source market for tourists will the daily Boeing B787-8 service add some 85.000+ seats into the market, cutting the journey time by at least 7 hours if not more, depending on what European, Gulf or other African waypoint travelers so far use to connect to Nairobi.

As the entire Eastern African region is set to hugely benefit from Kenya Airways’ planned US flights – much of the international traffic into other Eastern African airports like Entebbe, Kigali, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar routes via Nairobi – will all eyes from the region be on both airline and airport authority to see them succeed and make travel to and from the United States substantially shorter.

Final audit hurdle to be taken ahead of #KenyaAirways’ flights to [HASHTAG]#JFK[/HASHTAG]

Lol. Kama kawaida wazee wak ku cook data

 

[Hamster255]

Cargo operator’s status at JKIA raises red flag on airport security
By Vincent Achuka
Published: Feb 25th 2018 at 15:15, Updated: February 25th 2018 at 15:22

Kenya Airways has written to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority over new airline’s operations at its former warehouse [Courtesy]
A cargo operator has been granted access to the airside at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi under controversial circumstances, the Sunday Standard can report.

The decision, we understand, may have been made in order to keep miraa exports flowing to Somalia just two weeks after an aircraft was grounded for flouting flight security rules.

Jetways has for the last one week been flying miraa to destinations in Somalia even before the setting up of its premises at the Kenya Airfreight Handling Ltd (KAHL) centre is complete, potentially violating aviation rules.

ALSO READ: How to apply VAT to the digital economy

Our investigative team established that the company’s warehouse was yet to have a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs centre as required by law on bonded warehouses for monitoring what is going into or out of the country through the company.

When Sunday Standard sought the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority’s (KCAA) take on the issue, its director general, Gilbert Kibe, promised to respond to the issues at a later date.

“Let us talk Monday morning,” he said in a text message last night.

Advertisement
Avoid fake news! Subscribe to the Standard SMS service and receive factual, verified breaking news as it happens. Text the word 'NEWS' to 22840
However, following the complaints, the Sunday Standard’s Investigation’s desk set out to determine their veracity and several visits to the cargo section of Kenya’s biggest and busiest airport revealed security lapses.

Our teams witnessed truckloads of miraa arriving every day between 2am and 4am, which are then packed before being loaded to planes without screening by KRA officers.

Bonded warehouses are required by law to have KRA centres within their premises, and officers from this desk are among the few officers allowed access to the airside, according to industry insiders. This is because the airside, which is the section where planes are loaded, is considered international space.

ALSO READ: KRA intercepts gold worth Sh100 million at JKIA

It takes rigorous assessment by both local and international aviation regulatory bodies to get clearance to set up an airside shed. This includes getting the coveted RA3 status issued to airlines that are allowed to send cargo to European Union countries after passing security assessments.

“Air carriers that fly cargo or mail from a non-EU airport to an EU airport must ensure that all cargo and mail carried to the EU is physically screened or comes from a secure supply chain validated according to the EU regulations,” says EU aviation security validation rules.

Only Kenya Airways, Siginon Freight, Swissport International, DHL and Africa Flight Services (AFS) have officially achieved all the requirements needed in order to get access to the airside. All the other Regulated Agents (RAs), according to aviation parlance, pass their goods through these five operators.

In spite of these strict requirements, our investigations team was able to walk with ease through Jetways’ premises and continue all the way to the company’s airside.

Its door access control systems was yet to be set up as required by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), and it had no separation for imports and exports. Yet the company has for the past five days been shipping goods out of the country.

ALSO READ: Irony of low tax revenues amid increased alcohol consumption

“Before landing obviously the control tower will ask the pilot their identity, but then, what prevents them from saying I am with the first officer alone because there is no mechanism to verify?” said a source working at the cargo centre.

KAHL, where Jetways has set up its cargo handling facility, was until July last year under full control of Kenya Airways. It is owned by KAA who in turn decide whom to rent it out to. The section of the warehouse rented out to Jetways was originally being used by KQ for their mail service.

On Wednesday, Kenya Airways wrote to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) over activities at its former warehouse which the national carrier say contravene set regulations.

By the time of going to press, Kenya Airways had not responded to a series of questions we sent to them. Sunday Standard was, however, able to independently obtain a letter the airline wrote to KAA raising concerns similar to those brought to our attention earlier.

“Control of the airside access is now in the hands of the authority, which has in turn leased it to a different entity. Consequently, our span on control as a Regulated Agent at KAHL has shrunk,” said the letter signed by Martin Kampala, the KQ security manager JKIA and cargo.

“Note that as a registered RA3, we currently share a common border with Jetways and we have ceded control of airside access to the area under their charge. Should you have any queries pertaining to regulatory compliance for the same area, please deal directly with the new occupants,” said KQ.

Further investigations revealed that the national carrier has now opted to put up a wall between them and Jetways, in what industry insiders said was an attempt at separating their base of operationsfrom the new player.

KAA has denied getting any application for the construction of a wall at the KAHL to separate Kenya Airways from Jetways. This is despite the fact that Sunday Standard had earlier obtained the approval letter by KAA not only authorising Kenya Airways to construct the wall, but also proposing modifications.

ALSO READ: Which caddie shall take home a million shillings at the Kenya Open?

“We have approved the construction to proceed as per the approved design with the following comments: Make the second level of the wall of a lighter material but secure and can allow for cross ventilation and light,” said the letter sent on Thursday by Dokers Chemo, the acting airport manager.

But despite all these, KAA -- which is in charge of running all the public airports in the country -- referred us to KCAA, whose officials declined to talk to us earlier, before Director General Kibe promised to engage us on Monday.

“KAA allocates space to KCAA licensed and certified operators to carry out their cargo operations. The security certification is done by the regulator,” said KAA.

Cargo operator’s status at JKIA raises red flag on airport security

hahahahaha and when it goes through... you will be vomiting