The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has lifted the suspension it had imposed on Silverstone Air’s Dash 8 Series Aircrafts last week. In a statement released to the public on Tuesday by the Director General Capt. Gilbert Kibe, KCAA confirmed that the airline had provided satisfactory corrective measures following comprehensive compliance audits conducted between 24th October and 15th November 2019.

Last week, the airline announced that it was suspending operations for the sake of safety of their customers after KCAA temporarily grounded the airline’s aircrafts to pave way for investigations following a series of reported mishaps.

Travel agents are now calling for the resumption of full services by the airline after the Aviation regulator gave the airline’s aircrafts a clean bill of health. Led by Patrick Kamanga of Deans Travel Centre, the Mombasa travel agents expressed eagerness to have Silverstone Air back in business in anticipation of the high number of passengers booking travel for the peak season.

KATA CEO Nicanor Sabula says that this being a peak season especially for local travel, the capacity of Silverstone is required in the market to meet surging demand for flights to popular tourism destinations as well as for those travelling to join their loved ones in the village for Christmas. “Whereas I do not agree in the first place with the decision by KCAA to completely ground an entire fleet of the airline, the fact that they have now reassured the travelling public of their safety is paramount.”

“I am now urging the management of Silverstone Air to reconsider their decision to suspend their operations indefinitely despite the setback they suffered in the last week. I must say that in the wake of the unfortunate decision by KCAA, Silverstone Air acted in a very responsible and professional manner, “he added.  

Silverstone Air has remained non-committal on when they are likely to resume operations with the Commercial Director Mr. Patrick Oketch stating that for now the airline has prioritized the sorting out passengers that had booked flights for December through January.

Recommended Posts