Kenya is ranked among the top nations in aviation safety internationally despite sporadic terror attacks according to a safety assessment. Kenya scored 78 per cent in the survey conducted in 2012. The disclosure was made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Deputy Regional Director Prosper Minto’o at the 3rd Aviation Suppliers and Stakeholders Convention that ended in Nairobi on Tuesday. Mr Minto’o said ICAO was determined to sort negative perceptions of safety in Africa caused largely by unrest in war-torn states where safety cannot be guaranteed. He gave the example of DR Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia to illustrate his point. “It is unfair to view Africa’s aviation safety in the prism of these few war-plagued states,” said Minto’o. “Air aviation growth in Africa is well above the world average rates.” Landing rights Addressing the same forum, the Vice President of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) Raphael Kuuchi lamented that Africa suffered self-inflicted wounds such as cumbersome visa requirements that hinder inter African travel and praised Kenya and other countries that had introduced the provision of issuing visas on arrival. He said the experiment ought to be replicated throughout the continent to ease movement. “It is high time Africa had regional visas to cater for economic blocks such as East African Community, ECOWAS, SADC and others to inch closer to the likes of European Union where a single visa permits access to several countries to the convenience of travelers,” he said. “We need to further liberate our airspace to Africa’s own carriers instead of being seen to be preferring foreign carriers. It is a pity foreign airlines such as Emirates enjoy more landing rites in some African countries than African airlines.” African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Secretary General Elijah Chingosho revisited his caution on high service costs where fuel alone costs 21 per cent higher than the world average. “We lose by treating air transport as a preserve of the rich, hence African airlines constitute only 20 per cent of international air traffic, down from 26 per cent in the 1990s,” he said. “African governments must move away from harsh taxes on air travelers and airline utilities as a source of revenue and encourage competition where there is monopoly sourcing for services,” he advised. Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Director General Hillary Kioko hailed the co-operation among aviation industry players across the continent, something he said had contributed to the improvement of the industry. He said connectivity was still below expectation in African countries because skies were not yet fully liberalised. “It is high time Africa had more direct flights to avoid situations where travelers have to take long, expensive routes through other regions to fly between African capitals,” said Mr Kioko.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000111455/kenya-ranks-top-in-aviation-safety

Kenya is ranked among the top nations in aviation safety internationally despite sporadic terror attacks according to a safety assessment. Kenya scored 78 per cent in the survey conducted in 2012. The disclosure was made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Deputy Regional Director Prosper Minto’o at the 3rd Aviation Suppliers and Stakeholders Convention that ended in Nairobi on Tuesday. Mr Minto’o said ICAO was determined to sort negative perceptions of safety in Africa caused largely by unrest in war-torn states where safety cannot be guaranteed. He gave the example of DR Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia to illustrate his point. “It is unfair to view Africa’s aviation safety in the prism of these few war-plagued states,” said Minto’o. “Air aviation growth in Africa is well above the world average rates.” Landing rights Addressing the same forum, the Vice President of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) Raphael Kuuchi lamented that Africa suffered self-inflicted wounds such as cumbersome visa requirements that hinder inter African travel and praised Kenya and other countries that had introduced the provision of issuing visas on arrival. He said the experiment ought to be replicated throughout the continent to ease movement. “It is high time Africa had regional visas to cater for economic blocks such as East African Community, ECOWAS, SADC and others to inch closer to the likes of European Union where a single visa permits access to several countries to the convenience of travelers,” he said. “We need to further liberate our airspace to Africa’s own carriers instead of being seen to be preferring foreign carriers. It is a pity foreign airlines such as Emirates enjoy more landing rites in some African countries than African airlines.” African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Secretary General Elijah Chingosho revisited his caution on high service costs where fuel alone costs 21 per cent higher than the world average. “We lose by treating air transport as a preserve of the rich, hence African airlines constitute only 20 per cent of international air traffic, down from 26 per cent in the 1990s,” he said. “African governments must move away from harsh taxes on air travelers and airline utilities as a source of revenue and encourage competition where there is monopoly sourcing for services,” he advised. Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Director General Hillary Kioko hailed the co-operation among aviation industry players across the continent, something he said had contributed to the improvement of the industry. He said connectivity was still below expectation in African countries because skies were not yet fully liberalised. “It is high time Africa had more direct flights to avoid situations where travelers have to take long, expensive routes through other regions to fly between African capitals,” said Mr Kioko.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000111455/kenya-ranks-top-in-aviation-safety

Kenya is ranked among the top nations in aviation safety internationally despite sporadic terror attacks according to a safety assessment. Kenya scored 78 per cent in the survey conducted in 2012. The disclosure was made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Deputy Regional Director Prosper Minto’o at the 3rd Aviation Suppliers and Stakeholders Convention that ended in Nairobi on Tuesday. Mr Minto’o said ICAO was determined to sort negative perceptions of safety in Africa caused largely by unrest in war-torn states where safety cannot be guaranteed. He gave the example of DR Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia to illustrate his point. “It is unfair to view Africa’s aviation safety in the prism of these few war-plagued states,” said Minto’o. “Air aviation growth in Africa is well above the world average rates.” Landing rights Addressing the same forum, the Vice President of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) Raphael Kuuchi lamented that Africa suffered self-inflicted wounds such as cumbersome visa requirements that hinder inter African travel and praised Kenya and other countries that had introduced the provision of issuing visas on arrival. He said the experiment ought to be replicated throughout the continent to ease movement. “It is high time Africa had regional visas to cater for economic blocks such as East African Community, ECOWAS, SADC and others to inch closer to the likes of European Union where a single visa permits access to several countries to the convenience of travelers,” he said. “We need to further liberate our airspace to Africa’s own carriers instead of being seen to be preferring foreign carriers. It is a pity foreign airlines such as Emirates enjoy more landing rites in some African countries than African airlines.” African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Secretary General Elijah Chingosho revisited his caution on high service costs where fuel alone costs 21 per cent higher than the world average. “We lose by treating air transport as a preserve of the rich, hence African airlines constitute only 20 per cent of international air traffic, down from 26 per cent in the 1990s,” he said. “African governments must move away from harsh taxes on air travelers and airline utilities as a source of revenue and encourage competition where there is monopoly sourcing for services,” he advised. Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Director General Hillary Kioko hailed the co-operation among aviation industry players across the continent, something he said had contributed to the improvement of the industry. He said connectivity was still below expectation in African countries because skies were not yet fully liberalised. “It is high time Africa had more direct flights to avoid situations where travelers have to take long, expensive routes through other regions to fly between African capitals,” said Mr Kioko.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000111455/kenya-ranks-top-in-aviation-safety