KCAA clarifies new Wilson Airport flight procedures

Aircrafts at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. [File, Standard]

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has clarified that new flight procedures introduced at Wilson Airport were issued to facilitate the reopening of Runway 07/25 and were not prompted by two aircraft incidents reported earlier this year.

The authority said Aeronautical Information Supplement 31/2026, issued July 28, contains procedures designed to enhance the safety of aircraft operating to and from Wilson Airport after the runway, which had been closed for more than six months for maintenance and rehabilitation, was reopened.

KCAA said the minimum flying heights contained in the supplement comply with criteria set by the International Civil Aviation Organization and are part of procedures that aviation authorities routinely review when airport infrastructure, operational requirements or runway configurations change.

“The minimum flying heights comply with the criteria published by the international civil aviation organization,” KCAA said in a response to a  July 29 Standard Digital report on the new procedures.

The authority said the supplement was not issued as a response to the March 20 Safarilink incident or the May 22 crash-landing involving a Dornier 228 operated by the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service.

“The referenced occurrences remain subject to separate technical investigations and no findings from those investigations formed the basis of AIP Supplement No. 31/2026,” KCAA said.

KCAA also clarified that the supplement did not contain information indicating that new buildings near Wilson Airport were disrupting wind patterns.

The authority further said decisions on the location or relocation of an aerodrome do not fall under its mandate.

KCAA said it is mandated to provide air navigation services and oversee aviation safety in Kenya, including publishing procedures pilots must follow when taking off from or landing at airports.

The authority said the procedures must comply with Kenyan aviation regulations and international criteria contained in the International Civil Aviation Organization's Document 8168, which sets out standards for constructing visual and instrument flight procedures.