Kenya Bans Importation and Operation of Select Planes

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has announced an immediate ban on the importation of select older aircraft types, citing safety and maintenance concerns.

In an Aeronautical Information Circular, referenced as AIC 15/25, KCAA announced the ban affecting the importation, registration, and operation of the Fokker 27 and Fokker 50 effective November 1, 2025.

The circular states that the restriction applies to all variants of the two types, including F27 Mark 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 0502, and 070.

The regulator clarified that while existing aircraft of these models already registered in Kenya will be allowed to continue operating for now, they will eventually be phased out.

KCAA Bans importation of F27 and F50 planes 

These aircraft may remain in service only “until they are deregistered or permanently grounded, whichever comes first”.

“No new applications for type acceptance, registration, or certificate of airworthiness issuance for the above aircraft types shall be processed,” KCAA said.

“Existing Fokker 27 and 50 aircraft already on the Kenyan register may continue to operate only until they are deregistered or permanently grounded, subject to full compliance with all safety requirements.”

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According to the authority, the restriction stems from growing concerns over the age of the Fokker turboprops and the increasing difficulty of maintaining them safely.

The directive, however, does not apply to foreign-registered Fokker 27/50 aircraft conducting overflights or technical stops in Kenyan airspace, provided they comply with applicable flight and airspace regulations.

The Fokker 27 and Fokker 50 aircraft have increasingly faced scrutiny worldwide, largely due to their advanced age, a series of landing gear malfunctions and other incidents, and the resulting airworthiness concerns from regulatory bodies. This has led to some specific operational restrictions and an outright ban on their importation in certain countries.

First introduced in the late 1950s, the original Fokker F27’s production ceased in the mid-1980s. Its successor, the Fokker 50, was in production until Fokker’s bankruptcy in 1996.

Fokker planes in Kenya

While KCAA did not specify the exact safety issues prompting the move, the decision marks the beginning of a gradual phase-out of the Fokker 27 and F50 fleets from Kenyan skies.

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Data from ch-aviation shows that Kenya currently has at least 21 Fokker 50s and seven Fokker 50(F) cargo variants in service, operated by 11 local carriers — including Advantage Air, AeroSpace Consortium, Buffair Services, Freedom Airline Express, i-Fly Air, Jetlite Air, Renegade Air, Rudufu, Jetways Airlines, Skyward Airlines, and Jubba Airways (Kenya). Safari Express Cargo operates the only Fokker 27-400 in the country.

ch-aviation also reports that Jubba Airways (Kenya) has already offloaded one F50 and one F50(F) from its Somali sister carrier to Ituri Airlines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Fokker 27 and F50 models have historically been popular across Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan, thanks to their durability, ability to handle short or rough airstrips, and affordability for regional and domestic operations.

Industry analysts suggest that the phase-out may open up new opportunities for ATR (Avions de Transport Régional) aircraft in Kenya’s aviation market. Renegade Air has already introduced ATR42 and ATR72 freighters, as well as the ATR42-500 passenger version, while Jubba Airways plans to refleet its Somali-registered operations with ATR turboprops.

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