Safarilink Aviation (F2, Nairobi Wilson) has signalled its intention to expand its regional footprint after joining the continental industry lobby, the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Kenya's Business Daily has reported.
AFRAA welcomed the Kenyan carrier alongside three other airlines, Air Djibouti (DJ, Djibouti), Air Sénégal (HC, Dakar Blaise Diagne International), and the nascent state-owned Uganda Airlines (UR, Entebbe). Abdérahmane Berthé, the association's secretary-general, said that AFRAA worked with airlines and governments across Africa to help them reduce their aviation costs, boost revenues, and address labour issues such as skills gaps.
He added that it would continue to assist new entrants to navigate the continent's high operational costs and poor intra-regional connectivity.
In May, Business Daily reported that Safarilink completed the IATA Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA), a voluntary evaluation programme for operators of smaller aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 5.7 tonnes.
As part of ISSA, IATA reviews an airline’s operations and management system including flights, ground handling, aircraft engineering, and maintenance. Carriers that successfully undergo the assessment are then placed on the ISSA Registry for a period of 24 months.
Safarilink is now among five airlines to receive the certification, the others being Nepal’s Tara Air (Kathmandu) and Yeti Airlines (YT, Kathmandu), Belize’s Tropic Air (9N, San Pedro, BZ), and Bolivia's Amaszonas (Z8, La Paz El Alto).
The Kenyan carrier took delivery of its first Dash 8-200, 5Y-SLM, in February. However, the 21-year-old turboprop, which is leased from Elix Aviation Capital, is currently inactive and in repair. SafariLink also operates one Dash 8-100 and one Dash 8-300 as well as eleven Cessna (single turboprop) 208B Grand Caravans. It specialises in scheduled passenger flights to safari camps throughout Kenya as well as to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar in Tanzania.
