Civil aviation authority warns against illegal use of drones

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has warned unregistered operators against illegal flying of drones amid surge in use especially in political rallies.

KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe has said the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) also known as drone is expected to increase significantly in coming years backed by rising demand for data collection, research, environmental conversation especially around the lake basin and other natural resources such forests, survey and mapping as well as academic research.

“The Authority notes that drones are increasingly becoming part of business in provision of other services including health care emergency services, creative economy, filming industry, sports and news gathering,” said Kibe.

In recent years, use of Category A drones which are deemed low risk and Category B which are medium risk have been on the rise especially in political rallies where the urge to showcase mammoth attendance for optics has skyrocketed.

“It is illegal to operate an unregistered drone in Kenya,” warned Kibe.

Under the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Regulations of 2020, a person shall not operate an Unmanned Aircraft System in Kenya without authorization from KCAA.

A drone operator or owner of is also required to register the aircraft with the Authority and be issued with a certificate of registration.

Operators and owners are required to pay among others, Kshs. 3000 for drone registration, Kshs. 80,000 for Remote Air Operator Certificate (ROC) Initial issue, Kshs. 2000 for authorization for use, Kshs. 2000 for Beyond Visual Line of Sight and Kshs. 5000 for airworthiness certification.

Speaking in Kisumu City, Kibe also said KCAA is well prepared to handle increased aviation activities especially helicopter and light-aircraft operations during the forthcoming electioneering period safely, securely and seamlessly across the country.

“We expect an increase in air passenger movements, including VIP movement that will fly to Kisumu and its environs, and KCAA is ready for the task of managing the anticipated increased volume of air traffic,” he stated.

It also emerged that there is an increase in the number of bird-strikes in Kenya’s key airports a factors that threaten to reverse gains made in ensuring safety within Kenya’s airspace.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) leads in the number of bird-strikes with 22 monthly, followed by Wajir Airport with 12 and Kisumu International Airport with an average of 3 bird-strikes each month.

Kibe added that Airport Multi Agency Team comprising KCAA, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has undertaken significant steps to mitigate birds and other wildlife menace at the airport.

Through a mandatory audit by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that assesses a State’s implementation of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), Kenya’s current score is 75.41% against a global average of 65.3% and Regional average of 51.1%.

Kenya is also rated Category 1 by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA), a mandatory assessment by the FAA on a State’s Safety Oversight system before allowing direct flights to the United States of America.