Civil Aviation Authority

The aviation industry or air transport is one of the most sensitive industries today especially after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Almost all countries have tightened security within their airports through their local civil aviation authorities. Over the years, the industry has seen tremendous growth through good regulations, systemic facilitation guided by the use of ultra-modern information communication technologies, high safety standards as well as gigantic investments in the current trends of automation. This facilitation is also compounded by good relations or well-structured consultative mechanisms with government agencies like the customs union employees who are situated in regional, local and international airports.

On the other side of the story the provision of airport, aircraft, passenger and cargo security has increasingly led to delays, passenger discomforts, intermittent earnings in the aviation industry, collapse of local tourism in many countries, as well as the loss of customer confidence in the services provided as well as good will.

ANALYSIS:

DEFINITIONS:

The United Nations commission for Europe has led to wide rage acceptance of the fact that trade facilitation could be defined in a simple manner as the process of simplifying and harmonizing all procedures associated with international trade and any information channels that might be associated with them.

Civil aviation authorities on the other hand have been unable to come up with a congruent definition of aviation security. Even in the wider sense, there is no universally acceptable definition of security. For the purposes of analyzing this paper we shall assume that aviation security generally refers to the mechanisms of surveillance, inspection and supervision of passengers and their luggage's as well as cargo in all areas under the jurisdiction of an airport including the reception counters.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACILITATION AND SECURITY IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY:

Airport security is supposed to provide a compromising role to facilitation in order to enable the smooth running of the aviation industry. Although this is not always the case, there has been a remarkable interrelationship between the two roles in harmonizing the aviation industry.

In the passenger, handling segment the introduction of biometric strips for identification of passengers has had positive effects. In this field, it has become easier to identify passengers and this has reduced the necessity for stringent identification processes.

This has resulted in reducing unnecessary delays or long queues before departures; in addition, it has helped to improve security, as the biometrics is almost 100 percent tamper proof. Such arrangements have further reduced the operating costs of not only the firms involved in the industry but also the cost of local authorities that are supposed to provide general security in the airports.

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, many passenger flights restricted the kind and quantity of luggage passengers could carry on board. This has facilitated quicker inspection of passengers as well as increasing aviation security since most of the luggage left is now usually transported by specific cargo flights that have no passengers on board.

In the cargo operations division increased security not only on the handling of lofty price consignments but also the handling of hazardous or dangerous commodities has led to the facilitation of better and safer transportation mechanisms.

Although airport facilitation and security may be seen as compromising elements it is usually the case than not that whenever there are, pertinent issues that need to be addressed the security side usually supersedes the facilitation.

Thus, despite their interrelationship it is necessary to have aviation industry forums setup for purposes of consultation on facilitation and security issues from time to time.

In such forums, issues of legitimacy or legality of certain security decisions that appear to be counter-productive or counter-facilitative needs to be addressed. In such cases, a compromise should be reached in order for the security to be maintained and facilitation within the industry guaranteed.

It may be true to say that many facilitation goals or objectives have failed to be realized because of the security initiatives or decisions undertaken. This has resulted in people adopting alternative transportation systems because they feel violated by excessive security checks at airports. In addition to this there appears to be a lack of interest within the concerned stakeholders to address these issues.

To promote a symbiotic relationship between facilitation and security many governments have failed to entertain alternative transportation of cargo e.g. by rail, road or by sea. Surprisingly these modes are cheaper than air transport and if utilized guided by laid down procedures and policies they would go a long way in facilitating aviation security.

To combine civil aviation security and facilitation is not an easy task. That is why from the onset of the September 11 terrorist attacks many countries have tried to set up a national strategy for aviation security. This has been prompted by the fact that the aviation industry is very precarious. It is a major facilitator of international trade through the movement of people, mail, and cargo from various points to various destinations globally.

Due to this fact certain governments or civil aviation authorities have gone ahead to ban certain aircrafts or airlines from operating in their airports. This decision has helped to facilitate aviation operations since all airlines will be constantly being trying to meet certain security features or elements. This will ultimately go a long way in harmonizing the facilitation and security of the aviation industry.

CRITIQUE:

Despite the interrelationship between facilitation and security, we have to realize that the security side is more important especially in these days of neo-terrorism. It would be unwise to have excellent facilitation if our lives will always be on danger the moment we enter international airports.

Thus, in this sense it is better to have an acceptable security system in place and then trying ways that will help in formulation of facilitation systems that will compensate the security arrangements. The only we can achieve this security is by integrating the global activities of all private and public aviation security in to a well coordinated chain that will help to reduce air vulnerabilities, prevent, detect or deter aviation security threats.

CONCLUSION:

The analysis of this paper was aimed at finding out the nature of the relationship that exists between the concepts of facilitation and security in the field of aviation security operation. Many scholars have tried to argue that facilitation and security can be equated to the two sides of a coin. What most of these people have failed to realize is that you can never see the two sides of the said coin at the same time. With respect to this am afraid to say that unfortunately whenever this coin is tossed the probability is usually that the security side of the coin will always carry the day.

Piloting has become the most demanding career and hence the need to have well established training institutions that care about time, the completion of the syllabus within the stipulated duration.

Qualification for One to Enroll As a Pilot.

You require to first have educational qualification up to ‘O' Level that is Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education with a minimum grade of C+ or above with C+ in Mathematics, English and any Science Subject and recently you must pass Geography and even a Degree or a Masters.

Admission to a Training Pilot Institution.

You will sit for an aptitude paper combining Mathematics, English and General papers which before you sit you will pay anon-refundable fee of kshs 50,000=00 which includes 3 flying lessons to check your capability of handling the aircraft and if you a pilot born or a pilot to be made. Once you pass the aptitude you will go for medical check up with one of the approved Kenya Civil Aviation Authority doctors to check your health and eyesight o determine whether you are fit to fly thereafter if you pass the medical tests you will then proceed to apply for your Students Pilots License which will enable you to start your flying lessons as you will be also covered by insurance incase of any incident or accident before obtaining the SPL you will be flying at your own risk.

Training Programme

(A)Private Pilots License (PPL).

At this stage it is the initial and you are required to attain 55 flying hours before sitting for your flight test for a bright student and for slow learners it will go up to 75 hrs and above. There theory ground school learning you will undergo in Navigation, Meterology, Airlaw and Aircraft performance weight & balance which you must pass before you sit for your air test. It does matter how good you are in flying but it is a must for you to pass theory exams. The flight training will cost you for bright students kshs 870,000=00 including ground school and the duration should be 3 months if the weather is fine and you have the finances. The above training cost is only valid unless the government does not increase fuel or cost per mile or cost of spares and if they do the cost will be increased accordingly and it does increase up to 10% and at most 15% so when budgeting mark up the above price with 15% to be on the safe side. When you start flying if you are bright when you hit 20 hrs you should be able to go your first solo flight that is fly alone without an instructor and the law requires you to have attained 17 years. You can start training as a pilot when 16 yrs and a half by concentrating more on theory and when you attain 17 you will have at least finished your grounds go your first solo flight and start flying continues and finish you PPL as you don't have to finish your secondary education to start flying. By the time you are through with your ‘O' Levels you will be already with your PPL and start pursuing your Commercial Pilots License. You will be trained on C-152/150 and PA28.

(B) Commercial Pilots License.

You will only qualify to do your Commercial Pilots License after passing your Private Pilots License. It will take upto 8 month to 1 year for bright students and for those with finances and with good weather. There are 11 subjects to be covered in theory and you must pass before sitting for your flight test. At this level you have to sacrifice you time minimize your social life, be dedicated and hardworking person to be able to complete this level and for bright students you will qualify after doing 145 flying hours on A Cessna 150/152,PA28, C-172/C-182 which will cost approximately kshs 2.3 million.

( C ) Multi-IR Training

This is the final stage and you will require 50 hrs training but you can use the C-172/C-182 with instruments which will reduce the cost for 30 hrs and the rest on twin engine and this will cost you less. You will sit for a technical type rating exam on the aircraft you will training you Instrument Rating and Multi. Once you pass you will then do a form 64 to get the aircraft endorsement on you licenses do your Multi Rating then you Instrument training which will cost you approximately kshs 1.5 million. Once you have you Mult IR then you are assured to get a job with Kenya Airways or one of the airlines or general aviation charter companies in Kenya.

The total cost will be 4.8 million for you to become a full pilot. But people do arrange themselves in a such way they do it in pits due to finances and finally the make it do think you need the whole 4.8 million that is a white lie. You can even work and take early morning lessons or late evenings lessons for flying and attend weekend classes for your theory and complete your training.

After your Private Pilots License graduation you can decide to go outside the country either to South Africa, United States of America or United Kingdom to complete your course there but keep in mind you will come back and still have to sit for conversion exams for grounds and flight which will cost approximately kshs 1 million. You will spend one month in theory conversion class for your license and 2 weeks on your flight conversion class if you have resources. This is on top of your full training and accommodation and meals overseas.So, please before you decide leaving the country for your pilot course please do your calculation consideration all aspects and analysis. There are consultancy firms with experts who will guide you on best institutions in Kenya which will ensure you complete your course with one year and half if you have finances and you are dedicated and hardworking students. These consultancy firms can even organize a yearly presentation in secondary schools for the 3rd year students when they are doing their career selections to advice them on how to make their dreams true for becoming pilots.

With more than 250 air crashes in the last 15 years linked to pilot fatigue or sleep deprivation issues, it seems our own Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) as well as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been asleep in their administrative duties. A March 11, 2010 article from WBZTV discloses that data "collected from NASA, the FAA, and the NTSB showed that "over the past five years there have been 689 incidents where pilot fatigue caused a safety concern or a crash."

Documents tell of pilots nodding off on approaches and even landing on the wrong runways or taxiways. Pilots are sometimes allowed to work 16 hours in a day, though only eight can be in the cockpit. One retired commercial airline pilot admitted, "I can remember more than one time waking up while we were in route. I had been asleep, looking at the clock, looking at the watch, I had been asleep for 20 minutes, 30 minutes."

Despite the uptick in reports of fatigue and sleep linked accidents, all we continue to hear from the FAA and the NTSB are empty promises of coming changes. In June of 2009 Randy Babbitt (current FAA Administrator) pledged to change pilot regulations, most of which have been in effect since the 1940s. He told reporter Nancy Cordes in her article for CBS News, "We're gonna have a tough decision to make and I don't mind making it." The only recent change to policy has been his approval for pilots to use antidepressant medications on the job. The most common side effects of antidepressants are drowsiness, dizziness and sleep problems, including insomnia.

Mr. Babbitt feels that "culture change" and tolerance for those afflicted with depression are more important than the safety of the millions flying the skies. The FAA's mission statement is "to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world." The FAA's vision statement is "to improve the safety and efficiency of flight. We are responsive to our customers and are accountable to the taxpayer and the flying public." The recent antidepressant policy change as well as the continued delay in amending pilot work hour regulations seriously conflict with the FAA's stated mission and vision objectives.

While our own FAA and NTSB are asleep at the "stick", allowing the airlines to continue to overwork their pilots, most of the international safety boards are joining them in the bunkhouse. The CBC in Canada reported in a March 2010 article that "Twenty-eight people have died in a dozen plane crashes across Canada over the past decade in which fatigue was cited as a possible factor." The Canadian Transportation Safety Board reports note "pilot-fatigue-related issues in six deadly crashes and in an additional six accidents – including the Air France crash in Toronto – where all on board survived."

Canadian regulations allow pilots to be on duty for 14 hours, or 17 in "unforeseen circumstances." Barry Wiszniowski, a pilot and expert with the Air Canada Pilots Association, says this about regulations in Canada, "Ours haven't been modified since 1995 and prior to that in the ‘40s."Martin Eley, head of civil aviation at Transport Canada, after initially dismissing pilot fatigue complaints from unions, says, "we've certainly moved on…in June, we are tabling the terms of reference for a working group to actually start looking at the current science and looking at where we need to update our regulations." He noted that "it will likely take a couple of years before the rules change." A 2001 study recommended six changes to work regulations. Four of the six were ignored by Transport Canada. The changes were to address duty schedules relative to circadian rhythm effects on sleep.

Drew Dawson, an expert on fatigue in the workplace, makes the frightening statement:

"There's nothing like a smoking hole in the ground to address attention."

Pilot Kent Wien, in Gadling.com, accused the NTSB of "glossing over fatigue" as the cause of the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York last year. They placed total blame on the pilot's inabilty to properly handle a stall. The crash killed 50 people and the NTSB overlooked the fact that both the pilot and the co-pilot had little sleep in the 24 hours prior to their flight. They placed total blame on inadequate flight simulator training. Robert Sumwalt, one of the NTSB investigators in the case, refused to allow fatigue as a contributing factor saying, "just because the crew was fatigued, that doesn't mean it was a factor in their performance."

Sleep deprivation studies have proven that performance levels and response speeds for sleep deprived individuals are equivalent or worse than blood alcohol levels of 0.05%. A British Medical Journal study concluded that fatigue does affect performance, finding that, "getting less than 6 hours a night can affect coordination, reaction time, and judgment" and poses "a very serious risk" to drivers." The NTSB , like the FAA, chooses to ignore the fatigue and sleep deprivation issues jeopardizing the air safety they are charged to protect.

While air transport safety boards and accident investigators overlook fatigue and sleep deprivation as a cause of human error disasters, Air New Zealand has been monitoring and analyzing fatigue, sleep, and fatigue countermeasures since 1998. "Air New Zealand was one of the first airlines in the world to introduce a policy for controlled rest on the flight deck (cockpit napping)." The policy was supported by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. It allows for a fatigued crew member to take a 45 minute nap after a briefing of the crew members as to time of waking. "No course changes, altitude changes or fuel transfers are permitted during this period." The napping is only permitted for 2, 3, and 4=person crews. The fatigue management program has full support of airline management and union groups. Fatigue report forms from pilots detailing excess fatigue, possible causes and remedies are passed to Flight Operations management for possible action or comment and are then analyzed by a Flight Crew Fatigue Study Group (FCFSG) monthly. The group looks for patterns and problems with particular duties and routes.

Pilots participating in studies wear a "Sleepwatch" on the wrist. The sleepwatch measures wrist activity. It provides information on "timing and quality of sleep." Three questionnaires are utilized in-flight. Fatigue Visual Analogue Scales rate how pilots feel. A Profile of Mood States asks pilots to score certain words based on their moods. The Stanford Sleepiness Scale scores word pictures of the individual's fatigue feelings. The questionnaires are short and only require a few minutes of their time. The pilots then take a quick test called the Psychomotor Vigilance Task in which they have to extinguish a randomly flashing light in a small box by pushing a button using his or her thumb.

The notebook sized black box measures and records performance and alertness rankings. More importantly it measures "lapses" which took more than 500 milliseconds to accomplish. The FCFSG has taken the data from these studies and has modified "flight and duty time limitations that are considered safe and acceptable on the basis of reliable data." The group hopes to go pro-active in the future to advise tours of duty before they are introduced instead of modifying them after studies and reports have been completed. The FCFSG has decided to forgo the marketing of their system and they have opened it to the public domain "for the betterment of flight safety in the International Aviation Community."

On March 22, 2010 the United States Senate unanimously passed the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (S.1451) by a margin of 93-0. Chairman Rockefeller made airline safety a "top priority in the bill." It requires the FAA to "revise the flight and duty time regulations for commercial air carrier pilots and issue the final rule within one year to address pilot fatigue.

The existing FAA guidelines on flight time and duty limitations were established in the 1940s without significant modification." Chairman Rockefeller in a press release of December 2009 said, "Addressing pilot fatigue is an issue for which it has taken far too long to achieve meaningful reform. The travelling public deserves a better effort to make certain any plane on which they fly has an alert and well rested flight crew."

Fatigue, sleep deprivation, and their effects on our safety in the air have been sufficiently documented. It is time for the FAA, the NTSB, and their partnered agencies across the globe to wake up and to follow the lead of New Zealand Air. Millions of lives are at stake. They should not need any more "smoking holes in the ground" to wake up from the sleep paralysis that's been plaguing them for years.

East Africa has Soroti in Uganda as one of the latest and old pilot training schools followed by East Africa School of Aviation based in Kenya for ,Air Controllers course, Flight Dispatch and operations course, Engineering ,Management courses in aviation. Kenya has emerged as one of the fastest pilot training area with Wilson Airport leading with over 5 flying schools and with the launching of Orly Airpark recently which will mainly provide private aircraft parking and training to decongest the Wilson Airport.

For your pilot training course you are advised to engage a consultant in aviation. There are many schools in Kenya but some do not advice professionally but they are only after money and it might take you over 3 years to complete your flying hence need to engage a consultant who has the knowledge and experience which school provides quality, effective and efficient service. The consultant will also assist you on a daily basis and engage the school on why they are not following the syllabus or taking too long for a certain course and this will put them on their toes to improve in there area of weakness. As a student is you complain there will be bad blood even lead to suspension and thus affecting you mentality which will ruin your career.

1. Examination Fees and Other Charges hiked by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority propose to introduce a new "flight safety charge" of usd 2 per passenger on internal flights and kshs 50 on domestic flights. Stakeholders have warned repeatedly that it is better to collect one ‘commuted' annual fee per aircraft rather than a little fee for each service. The annual fee for licenses are being virtually doubled, such as, Students Pilot License will go up from kshs 500 to kshs 1, 000, a CPL from kshs 2,700 to kshs 4,500, and a Type Rating from 900 to 2,000.

Costs of sitting examinations are being tripled. In the PPL, Air law will increase from 500/- to 1,500/- , Navigation from 500/- to 1,500/- , etc. All CPL Subjects are proposed to go up from 1,100/- to 3,000/- each.

Ethnic discrimination still remains a feature in conversion of CPLs "foreigners" will pay kshs 16,000/- for writing a conversion paper of their foreign CPL, while "Kenyans" pay only kshs 10,000/-.

ATPL conversion exams will cost foreigners kshs 32,000/- whereas Kenyans will pay kshs 16,000/-. While we have these variations, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority is supposed to be reminded that ICAO regulations states that all aviation fees and charges must be the same for everybody, foreign or indigenous.

There are consultants who can organize for ground classes for Engineers, Pilots for those who want to convert their licenses before they sit for the exams and it normally takes 4 weeks for South Africa & American trained students and for British 1month and 2 weeks in class to be able to pass the exams.

2. Uganda CAA Scuttles Student Training.

The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority has now instructed all the flying schools that no hours flown will be logged before having obtained the Student Pilots License. In Uganda the issuance of the Students Pilot License takes weeks and month with the loss of applications, the need for a separate "security" check and the obvious miscommunication and loss of documents possibilities between CAA and security body.

The new Uganda Civil Aviation Regulations apparently require this and the CAA is now enforcing it and disallowing any flight time done by students during their interminable wait for the SPL.This means that before a school can start flying with a student, if he wants to log that time, then there will be a delay of unknown duration while the application is processed. This basically kills off flight training in Uganda for all but the very patient.

Instructors feel that it certainly takes away any attraction of a trial lesson in that the student can no longer log this 30 minutes. And when all fired up and excited from the trial lesson they will now have to wait weeks or months to begin training .This will effectively reduce the number of people wanting to start training.

Flight schools are now struggling for survival in Uganda, despite the fact that there is a good demand and the airlines are crying out for new Ugandan pilots.

In the United Kingdom, one of the most important regulatory bodies in the aerospace industry is the Civilian Aviation Authority, or the CAA. The CAA was created in 1972 to act as a public organization to oversee all elements of British domestic aviation. The CAA was formally made the government’s aviation regulator with the Civil Aviation Act in 1982, which replaced the Department of Transport in this role. Aerospace professionals, from engineers to pilots, need to know about the CAA’s regulatory functions and jurisdiction in order to better understand the British aerospace industry.

Aerospace professionals should first understand the jurisdiction in which the CAA provides regulation and consultation. The Civilian Aviation Authority is the sole regulator for flights within the United Kingdom, from small charters to regularly scheduled airliners. However, the international nature of airline travel has required consultation and team work with European aviation organizations in order to facilitate safe and efficient travels. When international regulations come into effect, the CAA’s offices in London act as the local office for the European Aviation Safety Agency. CAA officials also act on regulatory boards of the EASA which determine regulations and enforcement policies.

The CAA has broad authority as the United Kingdom’s regulatory of aviation and aerospace activities, which should be understood by aerospace professionals. The function of the CAA that professionals will become most familiar with is the licensing of aviation and aerospace professionals. Flight crew, engineering, and air traffic controller licensing all run through the CAA and regular license upgrades and renewals are required. In a similar vein, the CAA monitors medical regulations and facilitates physicals for aviation personnel that are involved in regular flights.

Aerospace professionals may become intimately familiar with the professional licensing aspects of the CAA but there are a number of other functions that are equally important. The CAA regulates the United Kingdom register of aircraft, which is necessary to maintain an accurate record of all planes in the region. As well, the CAA regulates the licensing of airplanes and other aircraft in the United Kingdom. The CAA not only regulates individual aircrafts and professionals but leads the charge against unfair aerospace business practices. The CAA’s regulatory function allows it to manage public aviation organizations while regulating against private monopolies. In all, the CAA’s jurisdictional and regulatory functions allow it to deal with safety and economic issues in the UK’s aerospace industry. Aerospace professionals who understand the nuances of the CAA will function better in their jobs.