On 20 November 2018, allegations emerged that some Kenyan airlines were continuing to move cargo into Somalia using passenger-configured aircraft, despite a Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) directive issued earlier in the year. The claims centered on Fokker 50 planes, excess loads, and a route that operators said remained commercially attractive because of the miraa trade.
According to the report, at least three aircraft registered in Kenya were still being used to carry goods into and within Somalia months after KCAA instructed that only cargo-configured planes should transport freight. Photographs and videos cited in the story showed a non-configured Fokker 50, registration 5Y-MIS, being loaded at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The aircraft was said to have carried more than 7,000 kilograms of cargo while operating in Somalia, which the report described as a breach of Kenyan aviation law. In another case, the same plane reportedly flew with cargo on 14 August 2018, with payment for the service made on 19 August 2018, according to invoices reviewed by the publication. The aircraft was said to be owned by Silverstone.
The allegations also touched on other operators in the sector. Skyward Express was named in the same business environment, with Isaack Somo identified as the person operating Skyward Express and Jetways, while Mohamed Abdi was described as chair of Skyward. Mohamed Somo was identified as the operator of Silverstone. Videos obtained by the investigative team were said to show aircraft carrying more than eight tonnes, above the five-tonne limit cited by insiders.
Sources quoted in the report said the planes were still ferrying cargo between towns in Somalia, including miraa. One source said: “The truth of the matter, and this can be verified from the flight plans, these companies are using non-cargo configured Fokker 50 planes to ferry cargo, particularly miraa, to Somalia.”
Documents reviewed by the publication reportedly showed that on 23 July 2018, another Fokker 50, 5Y-SMX, flew out of the country with 5,620 kilograms of cargo. The same source alleged that the practice had been going on since February, with KCAA aware of it despite its January directive. The source also said there were invoices showing airlines continuing to do cargo business after the order.
Skyward Express chairman Mohamed Somo referred questions to the regulator and said his company had since complied with the law. Isaack Somo could not be reached, and by the time of publication he had not responded to a text message.
The story noted that Kenya is a major exporter of miraa to Somalia, with the trade valued by industry players at about Sh5 billion. It also quoted the source as saying KCAA had called aviation directors to a meeting on 28 January and directed that all non-cargo-configured Fokker 50 aircraft stop carrying cargo out of the country.
The source argued that reconfiguring a single Fokker 50 would take at least six months and cost $70,000, or Sh7 million, and suggested the regulator should have factored that into its decision. In a separate interview, Kenya Civil Aviation Director General Gilbert Kibe said he had not yet received the complaints and asked that they be sent directly to him. He said: “Tell your source to write to me that so and so is using passenger configured aircraft to transport cargo.”
Industry experts cited in the report said a passenger aircraft can carry only about 1.8 tonnes of cargo in the forward or aft compartments, a load they said would not be commercially viable on the Mogadishu route. By contrast, a charter flight to Mogadishu carrying five tonnes was said to cost about Sh1.2 million, while carrying 1.8 tonnes would bring in about Sh430,000, far below the level needed to make the business profitable.
The report concluded that operators were benefiting from the Somalia route because Kenyan regulations were said not to apply once the aircraft landed there, leaving compliant firms at a disadvantage.
