Twenty nine Kenyan based airlines have been restricted to domestic operations after they failed tests by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for international flights.
Also limited to operate are 15 approved maintenance organisations. They have been restricted to offer services to air operators that conduct domestic operations.
The cases will be reviewed in three months to see if they meet the set requirements.
KCAA director general Gilbert Kibe declined to give the identities of the affected airlines and maintenance organisations.
“I cannot release their names because we need to protect their privacy and business, we do not want the public to believe that the airlines are unsafe to fly with,” Kibe said on phone.
An earlier statement from KCAA announcing the action said Kenya being a signatory to the Chicago Convention is obliged to ensure that all activities in the aviation industry are in consistent with the convention.
Kenya Association of Air Operators chief executive Eutychus Waithaka, said the restrictions are painful to their operations.
He attributed the rush to enforce compliance of air operators to the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation audit scheduled for July.
Waithaka said airlines regulated by KCAA need to undergo a certification process which includes an audit of their structure, flight equipment, on board medical equipment and operation manuals subsequent to licensing.
“It is in the fourth and fifth phase that they are given an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to fly safely and later awarded their operation certificate,” he said.
The restrictions come just a day after an East Africa Safari plane from Kitale to Nairobi with 12 passengers on board crushed in the Aberdare forest. Search operations for the debris are still underway.
