Aero-News - 27 March 2007
No. 02/07
AVIATION NEWS BULLETIN OF THE AERO CLUB OF
EAST AFRICA
AERO CLUB OF EAST AFRICA'S AVIATION CENTRE' OPENING 1 APRIL 2007
The Aero Club's "AVIATION CENTRE", providing flight planning services, international flight clearances, fuelling of aircraft, 'push-back' services, valet services and other yet to be identified services and facilities is opening on 1 April at the Aero Club of East Africa. A fully-equipped Conference Room for aviation-related meetings, and a Pilot's Shop are also being established. Further, a serious flight simulator is just about up and running.
Additional facilities at the Aviation Centre will be a small 'business centre', including two computers for broadband Internet access to Members and Guests, to assist pilots with their needs for licence applications, downloading of weather forecasts and satellite photos, etc. Two new staff, Leonida and Wellington, have been recruited. Both have many years of experience in Aviation Operations and Flight Planning. As of 1 April, pilots will be able to obtain the daily NOTAMS, flight plans, manifests and weather maps. The staff will be able to answer FAQ's, frequently asked questions, like "How can I validate my foreign pilots licence in Kenya?", "What do I have to do to fly into Jomo Kenyatta Airport?", "How do I do an international flight?", "Where can I rent a self-fly aircraft?" etc. An FAQ Section is also going to be posted on the increasingly popular Aero Club website www.aeroclubea.net
All aircraft owners and pilots, particularly sport and private pilots, are urged to make use of this facility. Why not go and meet Leonida and Wellington at the Aero Club's "Sport Aviation Centre" soon and see how they can assist you?? Check the latest Satellite photos for weather, get your aircraft washed, etc.
KCAA RAMS THROUGH ITS NEW KENYA CIVIL AVIATION REGULATIONS, DESPITE MANY OBJECTIONS FROM STAKEHOLDERS
In an insensitive act that is not only in breach of its own 'Service Charter' but also runs directly against the advice of the Kenyan aviation community, the KCAA has submitted its new Kenya Civil Aviation Regulations to the Minister of Transport last week, and he signed them into law. A major confrontation now seems all but inevitable, including injunctive relief, possible demonstrations and even industrial action.
Stakeholders such as pilots, engineers and aircraft operators have consistently warned the KCAA, the FAA and the East African Community that the regulations as written are fundamentally flawed in their structure and content, much too long, and extremely injurious to the East African Aviation Industry and sport flying. Pilots point out that many of the rules and regulations are simply impossible to follow and cannot be applied in a Kenyan context. Stakeholders also questioned the qualifications of the bureaucrats who wrote them. Most of them were employees of the East African Civil Aviation Authorities, with a sprinkling of East African Community bureaucrats and lawyers. Pilots, and particularly air operators, were virtually unrepresented. To be sure, there were a few one day workshops were stakeholder comments were briefly heard, but this is perceived by Stakeholders as 'tokenism' - not true consultation. The result was a document that is over 1200 pages long and that attempts to 'micro-control' all aspects of flying in East Africa.The KCAA, which knows absolutely nothing about activities such as parachuting, gliding, Light Sports Aircraft, nevertheless chose to pontificate about such things and make rules about them. Issues that should have been addressed have been left out, and many things that are literally not within the realm of responsibility of a CAA have been 'criminalized'.
Perhaps the most common thread running through the new Regulations is the prescriptive and authoritarian nature of the document. Aviation is already the most regulated economic sector in Kenya, and many Stakeholders are shaking their head, wondering why the 300 + aircraft that fly in Kenya (or the 50 or so that fly in Uganda) deserve all this attention. The KCAA has a ubiquitous answer: "It is an ICAO requirement". That of course is not entirely correct as the ICAO is simply not interested in bush flying, gliding, skydiving, Light Sports Aircraft, Microlights, and many other forms of aviation.
Those in the KCAA who are responsible for "railroading" though these regulations will be gone some day soon, when the political heat is turned up, but the Regulations will be there for years to come; long enough to frustrate aviators with 'red tape' and increase the cost of aviation to astronomical heights. Aviators have long suspected that the most important thing to the CAA's and their superiors in the Ministries seems to be the 'political angle' - rushing though a half-baked document that is designed to reflect the 'success' of the East African Community . In recent discussions of the new KCARS by pilots and aircraft operators, the most notable comment was: "What the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has done to aviation in Kenya in the past five or so years, is simply unbelievable. It amounts to a conspiracy to damage and destroy a perfectly healthy economic sector similar to what Mugabe has done to Zimbabwe".
KCAA WANTS USER FEES AND CHARGES INCREASED BY ABOUT 100%
It was not long in coming. All those new Civil Aviation Regulations and its myriad of permissions, licences, letters of approval, exemptions, certificates, etc. that will now be required under the new law, have a price. The aircraft operators and pilots, who did not want the new KCARS in the first place and who had no say in their formulation, now will have to pay for them. Operators suspect that many of the permits and certificates and licences that have been introduced in the KCARS are only a cynical way to raise more money for the Civil Aviation Authorities. A massive set of rules requires many bureaucrats to push the paper and to inspect and punish everybody and everything. That is what is now looming. KCAA has just introduced a 27 page document entitled "Report on the Review of Regulatory Fees". In it, KCAA states that the cost of its "regulatory services" is Shs. 291 Million and this must be paid by the (reluctant!) consumers, i.e. by the pilots and operators. On average, all previous fees and charges will be raised by 90%. Of course, those who have to pay have no say in how the KCAA is run or whether there is wastage, too many 'inspectors' and 'enforcers', etc.
Operators were already highly suspicious when the "new privatized KCAA" was created and these worries have now come true. Some highlights of the document are:
1. Introduction of a "Security Charge" of $ 2 per passenger on international flights and KShs. 50 on domestic flights, and $ 1 per tonne of cargo departing from Kenya. There is no mention about the proposed collection method.
2. All licences, ratings, endorsements etc. have been more or less doubled in price.
3. All costs of sitting exams have virtually doubled.
4. New charges have been introduced for licence conversions (PPL conversion: Shs. 9000 ! So much for KCAA fostering aviation)
5. Contrary to ICAO Rules that KCAA is always so fond of quoting, there are also discriminatory differences in the fees. "Foreigners" will have to pay $ 400 for a CPL "conversion" whilst "Kenyans" are bilked for only Shs. 16,000. ??
6. Certificates of Registration of Aircraft, Certificates of Airworthiness, etc. are way up. Even sport gliders now cost Shs. 8000 to register and it will cost up to Shs. 12000 per year for a glider C of A. That's not the way to support sport aviation. where no income is derived by the pilot and/or operator.
7. A new category of charges has been created for "approvals of minor modifications" of aircraft. A good one is also something called "Approval for permission to import an aircraft". Who knows what that means, but it costs a lofty $ 835 for aircraft below 2730 kg MTOW!
8. AMO's, ATO's and Air Operators are also hammered. A new AOC inspection fee is Shs. 100,000 !! That will really make small 'one-plane-operators' think twice about going into aviation. Inspection fees for AOC Renewals" are 75,000. That does not include the actual AOC. The actual Certificate costs an extra Shs. 50,000.
9. Aerodrome Licences have gone up from 20,000/year to 50,000. The licences for airports like Nanyuki, Ukunda, Garissa and others are Shs. 500,000/year (Yes! Five hundred thousand!). You can be sure that an increase in landing fees by KAA will not be far behind.
10. "Exemptions" and "Letters of No Objection" have gone up from shs. 5400 to shs. 10,000. For example, to make one parachute jump into Nairobi Racecourse, a Letter of No Objection" would cost 10,000 bob. One jump takes about 4 minutes!
11. A new one is the "Security Oversight Charge" for airports and air operators. That's another Shs. 30,000/year.
Those who wish to obtain a copy of the document can download it as an Adobe Acrobat PDF File from the KCAA website www.kcaa.or.ke under the "Downloads" Page. KCAA has called a workshop on 17 April 2007 at which Stakeholders can make their comments. Air operators, pilots and engineers, as well as IATA and ICAO representatives are urged to be there in large numbers to raise some fundamental questions.
KCAA PROPOSES TO CHANGE AIR NAVIGATION FEE COLLECTION SYSTEM
In harmony with the review of 'Regulatory Charges', KCAA also has proposed to change the system of collecting Air Navigation Fees. In a document released last week and posted on the KCAA web site, the Authority is suggesting the adoption of the ICAO model charging system that is in use in Europe, South Africa, and other countries. The system is based on a rather complicated formula in which a factor is established that reflects KCAA's operating costs. That factor is then applied to the weight of an aircarft and the distance it flies in the Nairobi Flight Information Region. So, upon filing a flight plan, the operator will find out how much he has to pay for the Air Navigation Service.
The KCAA will, within the next two years, also implement an "Activity Based Cost System' in which operators will be charged separately for three phases of flight: "Enroute", Approach" and "Aerodrome". Meanwhile, the provision that is of greatest interest to the 'little guys' that fly aircraft below 3500 kg All-up Weight is that they will be charged an "Annual Navigation Fee'. Aircraft below 2500 kg AUW would pay Shs. 30,000 and aircraft between 2501 kg and 3500 kg AUW would pay Kshs. 80,000. That is, of course, a much fairer way of collecting ANS fees, because under the present system of paying when flight planning, only those who depart from KCAA -manned airports pay for the services. Others, who fly between unmanned airports, often keep quiet and pay nothing.
Air Operators still maintain that the simplest and fairest way to pay for the KAA and KCAA services would be a tax on fuel. That money would be collected by the fuel companies and simply passed on to the Authorities. This would save millions in bureaucracy, red tape and receipt writing. It would be the most fair system, because those who fly more, pay more. Those who fly little, pay less. That is the system used in the USA and it could be easily introduced here.
Stakeholders are urged to download the ANS fee proposal from the KCAA web site www.kcaa.or.ke and study it. The proposal will be discussed at a workshop to be held by KCAA on 17 April 2007. That's your big moment.
SHELL BRIEFS AIR OPERATORS
Many of you will have experienced the recent AVGAS shortages that plagued Kenya. The Aviation Managers of Kenya Shell last week called a Stakeholders meeting at the Aero Club of East Africa to brief operators about the situation and invite them for a luncheon.. The main points were:
1. The global AVGAS supply is decreasing as fewer refineries produce the fuel in favour of more lucrative chemicals.
2. The Durban refinery is now only producing for the South African Market.
3. The most recent consignment had to be purchased in Rotterdam and transported around the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in high transport costs.
4. Shell is looking at the possibility of establishing a 'drumming plant' in Dubai and shipping all AVGAS in drums.
5. Although AVGAS is tax-free in Kenya, the importers have to pay the normal fuel tax (20 Shs./litre) on entry and then claim it back from the Kenya Government. The 'tax refund cheques' take up to one year, whilst the Government "uses" the money that does not actually belong to them.
6. Storage capacity at the Mombasa Terminal is limited. That is proposed to be increased, hopefully avoiding "stock-outs" in the long term.
7. Starting 26 March 2007, AVGAS supplies at Wilson Airport will be stable. (!)
Please report any 'stock-outs' to the Aero Club of East Africa or the Kenya Association of Air Operators immediately.
KCAA HOLDS WORKSHOP TO FINALIZE THE AERODROMES REGULATIONS AND SECURITY REGULATIONS
On March 21 the Kenya Association of Air Operators and he Aero Club of East Africa presented their comments about the proposed Aerodromes Regulations and Security regulations to the "Drafting Team' of the KCAA. Obvious deficiencies and weaknesses were pointed out to the KCAA staff who will, it is hoped, have taken these comments on board when they debate the final draft at Arusha tomorrow with their Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts.
Like many edicts and rules that have come out of the KCAA of late, the proposals, as they stand, are extremely injurious and annoying to pilots and operators. For example, one proposal that would bring things to a halt is that ALL AIRSTRIPS in Kenya (there are over 600 of them!) must have a Fire Engine on stand-by! Many other bureaucratic requirements are also annoying and full of red tape. For example, each airstrip must have a "Security Manual", a "Security Committee", a "Manager", etc. Fines and penalties are also an issue. Use of a 'cell phone' in an airplane could really land you in a "cell' as the fine for that is KShs. 2 Million and a year in jail!
Our comments were taken on board by the KCAA Drafting Team and hopefully, sense will prevail when the Final Draft is hammered out in Arusha this week-end.
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THERE IS A LOT MORE STUFF.
CHECK THE WEBSITE OF THE AERO CLUB OF EAST AFRICA: www.aeroclubea.net