Kenya Airways (KQ) has addressed allegations that one of its pilots flew its aeroplanes for eight years without a pilots licence.
In a statement, the national carrier called the reports fake, advising the public to disregard the allegations.
"Our attention has been drawn to a news story circulating on online blogs and different social media platforms alleging that a Keryar Pilot flew for Kenya Airways for 8 years without a Pilot's license. The General Public is advised to treat this as fake news as no such pilot has ever flown for Kenya Airways," KQ stated.
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According to the carrier, all Kenya Airways pilots and crew undergo rigorous training, background, and security checks to ensure they are qualified to operate.
"Further due diligence is conducted while vetting applicants including verification of documents from the institution where an applicant attended training KQ operates in a highly regulated environment with regular audits from a number of regulators across its network," KQ added.
"All pilot licenses are issued and renewed annually by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), upon establishing that the holder has met required knowledge and experiences."
Fake KQ pilot reports
The reports that an unqualified pilot was flying KQ planes emerged in 2021, with KCAA writing to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) claiming that the man in question was not licensed to fly commercial flights.
The pilot was alleged to have forged his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education to attain the minimum requirements to undertake a pilot course.
“Reference is made to your letter dated January 25, 2021, seeking clarification on the license of [name withheld],” said KCAA in their letter to the DCI.
“[Name withheld], a holder of Kenyan Identification Card Number [hidden] applied for and was issued a Student Pilot License (SPL) number [hidden] on August 8, 2011. The Student Pilot License expired on July 28, 2013,” said KCAA.
The regulator said it does not play any part in verifying the documents submitted to it by an aviation school. The agency said the onus is on the aviation school to do its due diligence while vetting its students’ eligibility.
After the “quack” pilot’s student license expired on July 28, 2013, there was no attempt of renewing the learner’s license, or getting an operating license, KCAA said.
