Emile Nguza Arao appointed KCAA new director general

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has announced the appointment of Emile Nguza Arao as the new director general for the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

The appointment of Arao which is effective April 22, 2022 will see him succeed Gilbert Kibe whose tenure at the helm of the civil aviation regulator has come to an end.

“Emile is a highly talented and accomplished aviation professional holding his Bachelors of Science Degree in Aircraft Engineering Technology, his Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Aviation with a specialization in Aviation Systems Management both obtained from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, USA,” said CS Macharia.

Arao is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the East African Community’s Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (EAC-CASSOA).

He is being credited for leading EAC-CASSOA to become the second Regional Safety Oversight Organization (RSOO) globally according to a ranking by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The appointment of Arao comes as the Airports Council International (ACI) awarded Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Moi International Airport (MIA), Mombasa best airports in Africa for their excellence in customer service.

The two largest airports in Kenya have won the 2021 Best Airport by Size and Region in the 5 – 15 million passengers per year and Under 2 million passengers per year in Africa categories respectively, in ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey considered as the aviation industry’s most comprehensive passenger service-benchmarking programme.

The Survey captures passengers’ experience at all airport passenger contact points at more than 300 airports worldwide.

“We are truly delighted that for the second year running, our two main airports have been awarded by ACI for the efforts made in delivering improved customer experience in a safe and secure environment. We have prioritized Customer satisfaction in all our operations. We are pleased to receive the two awards when the Authority is preparing to host the 67th edition of ACI-Africa Regional Conference in Mombasa from 12th – 18^th March, 2022,” said Alex Gitari, KAA Managing Director.