National carrier Kenya Airways has urged Members of Parliament to reject a government-sponsored Bill that seeks to regulate the trade, transfer, import and export of military, sensitive gear and other software.
The Strategic Goods and Control Bill, sponsored by Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah, seeks to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction through the provision of control of trade in strategic goods.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
Through the Bill, the State is keen to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery that could pose national security risks if they fall into the wrong hands.
However, in the engagement of various stakeholders, Kenya Airways has warned that the Bill risks causing more flight delays and even cancellations as aircraft parts and aviation equipment will be subjected to lengthy approvals and clearance procedures.
Appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security during public participation on the Bill, Kenya Airways said the Bill risks introducing additional bureaucracy that could cripple operational efficiency in the already fragile aviation sector.
In its proposal to the committee, the National carrier has called on the lawmakers to amend Section 3(2) of the Bill or introduce a new subsection exempting internationally certified civil aircraft, aircraft parts, aviation software and related services used for commercial passenger operations.
A Kenya Airways plane.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The national carrier has also called on MPs to further amend the law in order to provide an exemption to civil aviation items certified under international standards, such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which should generally be excluded from strategic controls unless there is evidence they are being diverted for military use.
Kenya Airways Company Secretary and Director of Legal Services, Habil A Waswani, said aviation is already among the world’s most tightly regulated sectors and imposing another layer of scrutiny on aircraft parts could delay repairs, ground planes and erode passenger confidence.
“Aviation-specific goods or parts are already certified by both local and international regulatory authorities,” Mr Waswani told MPs.
He said airlines operating international routes are subjected to rigorous inspections and oversight by aviation safety regulators, including EASA and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), before they are allowed to fly into certain jurisdictions.
“Because aviation is a safety and security highly regulated sector, the parts that you put on the aircraft have to be inspected and certified,” Mr Waswani told the committee.
“Our view is that operators already certified by these international bodies should receive consideration or lesser scrutiny because this would otherwise amount to a second layer of regulation.” He added.
Mr Waswani said the airline currently operates about 34 aircraft, making it highly vulnerable whenever one aircraft is grounded awaiting replacement parts.
“When one goes down and you need a part and it takes longer to secure that part from wherever it’s coming from, then it makes you unreliable,” he said.
He linked some of the airline’s flight delays and cancellations to difficulties in sourcing and clearing urgently needed aircraft parts.
He warned that unless aviation-specific parts are pre-cleared or classified under a fast-track mechanism, the new law could worsen operational inefficiencies and hurt Kenya Airways’ competitiveness against larger international carriers such as Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines, which operate much larger fleets and can absorb disruptions more easily.
“For airlines like Emirates and Ethiopian, they have over 200 aircraft. For KQ, one grounded aircraft has a significant impact,” he said.
The airline told MPs that the Bill should work alongside existing aviation regulatory systems rather than duplicating oversight mechanisms already enforced under international aviation safety agreements.
Mr Waswani argued that commercial aviation parts present a far lower national security threat compared to military or dual-use technologies targeted under the proposed legislation.
“We really need support from the frameworks that are going to be put in place not to bring operational inefficiency but to work together with existing structures,” he said.
The committee is currently collecting views from stakeholders before preparing its report to the National Assembly on the proposed legislation.
