NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 28 – Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has increased its airport rescue and firefighting workforce by 43 per cent following the graduation of 98 officers, as rising air traffic puts greater demands on aviation safety services.
The new recruits bring the authority’s Airport Rescue and Firefighting Services (ARFFS) workforce to 326 personnel, strengthening emergency response capacity across its airport network, which handled 12.2 million passengers between July 2025 and May 2026.
KAA said the graduates were recruited from all 47 counties, including 30 women, as the authority seeks to strengthen its capacity to respond to aircraft emergencies and fires at airport facilities.
The officers completed a four-month training programme at the KAA Training Academy, covering aircraft rescue and firefighting, building fires at airports and regulations governing airport emergency services.
“Airport rescue and firefighting services are critical to aviation safety, and in an emergency the ability to respond swiftly, work as a team and make sound decisions can mean the difference between life and death,” KAA Managing Director and Chief Executive Moses Wekesa said.
He urged the graduates to learn from experienced officers and maintain high safety standards, while calling on supervisors to provide practical exposure to help them translate their training into operational competence.
The recruitment comes as passenger numbers and aircraft movements continue to increase across KAA-managed airports, raising the importance of maintaining adequate emergency response capacity.
Between July 2025 and May 2026, the airports handled 285,500 aircraft movements, representing a 3.2 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier.
Passenger traffic grew by 2.1 per cent over the period.
Aircraft movements across the network rose by 7.3 per cent in May, while movements at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport increased by 13.2 per cent, pointing to higher operational demands at the country’s main aviation hub.
Airport rescue and firefighting requirements are linked to the types and sizes of aircraft an airport handles, making trained personnel and emergency readiness essential components of aviation operations.
The new officers will undergo on-the-job training at KAA airports alongside experienced firefighting crews before assuming full operational duties.
The KAA Training Academy, certified by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, provides specialised aviation training designed to meet International Civil Aviation Organization competency requirements.
The expanded workforce is expected to strengthen KAA’s emergency response capacity as Kenya’s aviation sector handles growing passenger volumes and aircraft movements.
