Deep-rooted business rivalry to ferry miraa to Somalia is at the centre of security breach at the Jomo Kenyatta International Centre (JKIA) where Jetways was controversially allowed to the airside without fulfilling the requisite procedural requirements.
Yesterday, Kenya Airports Authority temporarily closed airside access to the Jetways facility at the JKIA to allow investigations into claims of illegal and irregular activities in premises operated by Jetways Aviation.
Jetways and Ocean Air, both owned by the same proprietor have been flying miraa to Mogadishu despite falling short of aviation mandatory requirements.
According to impeccable sources at KCAA, Ocean Air is operating without license. Jetways has neither completed setting up premises at the Kenya Airfreight Handling Ltd (KAHL) centre nor has the Kenya Revenue Authority Customs department sanctioned their warehouse.
In a statement, Corporate Communications Manager Angela Tilitei said: “We in KAA take safety and security seriously and wish to assure the public that we take all the concerns with the importance they deserve.” On January 25, 2018 at dawn, two junior officers from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) grounded three air operators from flying the lucrative cargo to Somalia from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Investigations by The Informer established three different operators were blocked from flying by two KCAA inspectors at 5am. They were at the facility since midnight on Wednesday.
Majorly, miraa freight services were more pronounced at Wilson Airport. Ocean Air to transport miraa to Somalia without license for over two years now from Nairobi to Mogadishu.
Ocean Air is sister company to Jetways, which is not in the list of Miraa operators, nor is his aircraft cargo configured to ferry the same commodity. Incidentally, it has controversially been allowed to access JKIA airside. When the miraa planes were grounded, Ocean Air was allowed to fly to Somalia. Ocean Air is sister air operator to Silverstone.
Ocean Air and Jetways are silently but viciously fighting Bush Air, Rudufu, Bluebird, Buff air, Silverstone Air, Capital Air and Skyward . A week before the planes were grounded, KCAA Director General Captain Macharia Kibe toured Wilson Airport and inspected all the aeroplanes of both cargo and passenger operators.