Rewarding impunity? State mulls Wilson's flight path change to shield encroachers

Aviation Principal Secretary Teresia Mbaika disclosed that the government is considering rerouting aircraft towards Nairobi National Park as one of several options for resolving long-standing encroachment around Wilson Airport.

“We have a master plan in place for both JKIA and Wilson and one of the options is whether for Wilson, we need to adjust the flight path towards Nairobi National Park,” Mbaika said.

The proposal emerged on Friday during a heated session of the Senate Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing, and the PS.

The disclosure provoked an immediate backlash from senators, who questioned why the government was contemplating changing an internationally regulated aviation corridor instead of demolishing buildings erected within protected airspace.

The legislators argued that altering flight operations would reward developers who ignored the law while exposing passengers to unnecessary safety risks.

"The law is the law, and we are all called to be patriotic," Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said.

"Do we need to change the flight path to protect the developers? If you have encroached on the airspace, then you must pave the way. We have demolished buildings built on riparian land. We must do the right thing here as well."

PS Mbaika told the committee that the proposal forms part of a broader master plan for Wilson Airport and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport aimed at addressing years of unregulated development around the country's busiest domestic airport.

She said the government had not made a final decision and was evaluating several proposals before settling on the best course of action.

"We have had this discussion for a long time and there is a Cabinet memo on the same. Before a decision is made there are many proposals on what we can do," she said.

Her explanation did little to calm lawmakers, who insisted that changing flight paths would legitimise illegal developments while undermining confidence in the enforcement of aviation regulations.

Nominated Senator Peris Tobiko dismissed the proposal, saying Parliament should not condone buildings that breached aviation safety standards simply because investors had spent millions of shillings putting them up.

"Changing the flight path will not do anything. For once we need to do the right thing and bring down all these buildings," she said.

"Do we need to look away in the guise that people have invested millions of shillings in these buildings?"

Wilson Airport is East Africa's busiest domestic airport, handling scheduled local flights, air ambulance operations, flight training and tourism traffic to Kenya's national parks and neighbouring countries.

The controversy stems from a 2024 survey that identified 41 buildings within a six-kilometre radius of the airport that either exceed the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) or were constructed without mandatory clearance from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

Documents tabled before the committee show that South C, Nairobi West and sections of the Lang'ata Road corridor have witnessed extensive high-rise developments that now intrude into protected aviation airspace.

According to aviation officials, the buildings have forced aircraft to climb and descend more steeply while reducing manoeuvring space during take-off and landing, raising concerns over operational safety.

The report identifies at least 40 buildings that exceed approved height limits, including properties owned by the Parliamentary Service Commission, the Local Authorities Provident Fund and Nairobi East (South C) Hospital Limited.

Others are Nairobi West Hospital Limited, Equity Holding Limited, Shree Ambaji Temple and numerous apartment blocks and commercial developments.

Some of the structures exceed the permitted height restrictions by more than 20 metres, prompting senators to question how they obtained development approvals despite clear aviation regulations.

Lawmakers blamed years of regulatory failure and demanded accountability from agencies responsible for approving developments within protected flight corridors.

KCAA acting director general Nicholas Bodo admitted that Nairobi County had approved many of the developments without consulting the aviation regulator as required.

"We are now looking to engage the county differently. The county government overlooked us and did the approvals. They did not consult us, and we do not want to rubber-stamp things," Bodo said.

"It is a big question how the buildings were approved despite the regulations. Somehow, the county government tried to look the other way. But we have an enforcement mandate and we will see how this will be done."

His admission exposed glaring coordination failures between Nairobi county and national aviation authorities, with senators insisting that county officials who authorised the developments must be held accountable.

Nominated Senator Crystal Asige said the county government had a central role in the approvals and should explain how developments were allowed inside protected aviation zones.

"We need to have an engagement with the county government to resolve this and see what needs to be done. The county government is at the centre of all these approvals and they need to be held accountable," she said.

The committee also heard of another dispute involving land bordering Wilson Airport and Nairobi National Park.

PS Mbaika revealed that the Kenya Wildlife Service informed the Kenya Airports Authority last July that it had approved the lease of land along the Southern Bypass to a private investor after the parcel was excised during construction of the highway.

However, the Kenya Airports Authority objected, arguing that the land forms part of the airport's Runway End Safety Area (RESA) and lies directly within the protected flight path, making any development a potential aviation hazard.

The authority told senators it was still awaiting a formal response from KWS over the contested parcel.

The dispute comes as the government rolls out an ambitious modernisation programme at Wilson Airport that includes runway rehabilitation, construction of a new passenger terminal and upgrades to air traffic management systems.

But senators warned that infrastructure improvements alone would not guarantee safety if the government chose to alter flight paths instead of enforcing the law against illegal developments.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The government's proposal to alter Wilson Airport's flight path instead of demolishing illegal buildings has raised serious concerns over the rule of law and aviation safety. Senators argue that rerouting aircraft would reward impunity while exposing passengers to greater risks. The controversy also highlights years of regulatory failures by Nairobi County and aviation authorities in approving developments within protected airspace. The standoff will test the government's commitment to enforcing planning and aviation laws over vested interests.