(eTN) – The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority recently re-certified Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in accordance with guidelines issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The initial certification for JKIA was granted in 2008, and KAA has since been regularly inspected and issued with renewals, now a mandatory requirement by ICAO for airport operators.
Key elements in the inspection and audit process are the existence of updated manuals and, of course, the adherence and compliance with emphasis on safety and security management.
JKIA is currently undergoing substantial building activities to complete the new Terminal Four before embarking on the construction of a new runway and a new “mega terminal” under the Project Greenfield, which is estimated to cost about US$650 million.
JKIA has not been given FAA Category One status, largely over the airport’s current inability to separate the passenger streams, which is aimed to keep arriving passengers hermetically apart from departing passengers. The new Terminal Four will introduce this element of added security measures when open sometime in mid-2014, at which stage the current terminals one to three will be refurbished and upgraded to meet such requirements.
All of Kenya’s airports managed by KAA are subject to certification by the KCAA, which in this case acts as regulator, and extends to Mombasa, Malindi, Eldoret, and Kisumu, as well as aerodromes owned and managed by the Kenya Airports Authority.
