TSA Holds Up Two Africa Routes
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By Andrew Compart
The U.S. government’s Transportation Security Administration, citing what it called “a credible threat to civil aviation in East Africa” and airport security problems in Liberia, has indefinitely scuttled part of Delta’s plans for expanded service to the African continent.
The TSA said it could not let Delta start service between Atlanta and Nairobi, Kenya, via Dakar, as scheduled June 2 because of “noted security vulnerabilities in and around Nairobi.” It also will not let Delta begin its Atlanta-Monrovia, Liberia, service as scheduled June 8 because of what it called the failure of the Roberts International Airport there “to meet international security standards and appropriate recommended practices established by the International Civil Aviation Organization.”
“TSA is currently denying air service by Delta to Nairobi and Monrovia until security standards are met or security threat assessments change,” it said.
“TSA, along with key partners within the U.S. government, assesses a credible threat to civil aviation in East Africa,” it added. “At this time, the current threat is too significant to permit these flights. TSA and its partners will continue to closely monitor this situation.”
TSA added that it currently has a team of security experts assisting officials at the airport in Monrovia, and said it “continues to dedicate resources for assessments and capacity building at sites proposed for new Delta service.” TSA also said it has had “an active dialogue with Delta throughout the process.”
TSA’s statement followed statements and comments from Delta and Kenyan and Liberian government officials suggesting the scuttling of the services came as a surprise.
“Delta in October 2008 notified the U.S. government of its plans to offer new service to Kenya and Liberia. However, Delta was informed only yesterday by DHS that it would require additional time to approve these new flights,” the airline said in a statement. The airline said it was able to quickly rebook most of its customers on services to their destinations via transatlantic joint-venture partners Air France and KLM, on indirect routes via their European hubs.
Kenya’s government also released a statement June 2, before TSA’s, in which it said the reasons for the postponement were “still not very clear.” It said the Kenyan government “has complied with all the additional security measures requested by Delta” and noted the airport is served by more than a dozen international carriers from different regions of the world.
Also earlier on June 2, Edwin Sele, deputy chief of mission at the Liberian Embassy in Washington, D.C., described news of the delay as “very, very surprising.”
“We knew clearance was being sought, but we thought it was just procedural given the situation in the country,” Sele said.
Delta’s new route was eagerly anticipated as the return of the first direct U.S.-Liberia service since his country’s second civil war ended in 2003, he added.
The Nairobi and Monrovia routes were two of the eight new Africa services Delta was scheduled to begin this month (counting the June 1 conversion of Atlanta-Johannesburg, South Africa, one-stop service to a nonstop flight, and the June 1 replacement of New York-Cape Town with Atlanta-Cape Town). Delta is the only U.S. carrier offering nonstop scheduled service between the U.S. and Africa, which it started in 2006. Even absent the two additions and services still to be added later this month, it is providing service to six African destinations in five countries.
Delta said June 2 that the indefinite postponements won’t deter its commitment to Africa, and it still held out hope the new routes would get TSA clearance soon.
“Delta appreciates DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s continued focus on finalizing approvals for Delta’s direct service to Africa as quickly as possible,” the airline said.
Photo: Delta
