The Civil Aviation (Communication Procedures) Regulations

These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Aviation (Communication Procedures) Regulations, 2018

This section provides definitions (interpretation) of terms used in the Regulations, e.g. "Act", "Authority", and "air navigation services provider".

The Regulations apply to persons providing Communication, Navigation and Surveillance services within designated airspaces and at aerodromes, but do not apply when such services are provided to state aircraft.

Air Navigation Service Providers must provide and maintain available, reliable CNS facilities and describe calculation methods in their operations manual; specific installation and monitoring requirements apply.

Specify the interface arrangement and functional specifications for the support service.

Section 12 requires an Air Navigation Service Provider to maintain necessary documents and records for operation and maintenance and to subject computer-based records and any paper copies to the same document controls.

An Air Navigation Services Provider must develop an operations manual demonstrating compliance with the regulations and must control its distribution and amend it as necessary to keep information accurate and up to date.

Air Navigation Services Providers must set up procedures to inspect and test CNS systems and must establish a security programme for CNS facilities.

Requires that radio navigation aids be available for aircraft and that those aids undergo periodic ground and flight inspections after an accident or incident.

On-Job-Training officers must have satisfactorily completed the On-Job-Training instructional techniques course.

An Air Navigation Service Provider must establish and document procedures for reporting, investigating and preventing facility malfunctions and safety incidents, manage aeronautical radio spectrum and frequencies, and ensure operational status information and protection against interference.

Air Navigation Service Providers must develop a proficiency certification program for air traffic safety electronics personnel; the Authority must certify those personnel under the relevant Civil Aviation Regulations.

An Air Navigation Service Provider must ensure that human factors principles are observed in the design, operations and maintenance of aeronautical telecommunication facilities.

Minimum requirements for planning, installation, commissioning, training, operations and maintenance of CNS facilities must conform to these regulations.

Anyone who wants to provide air navigation services or operate a facility supporting air traffic services must have an Air Navigation Services Provider certificate issued under the Civil Aviation (Certification of Air Navigation Services Providers) Regulations, 2018.

Persons may not provide air navigation services or operate communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems in designated airspace and aerodromes unless those systems are approved by the Authority; the Air Navigation Services Provider must notify the Authority at least 30 days before procuring, installing, using, decommissioning, upgrading or relocating CNS facilities; the Authority shall approve such installations, uses, decommissioning, upgrades or relocations.

The Authority must carry out safety inspections and audits of CNS facilities, documents and records to determine compliance; an inspector of the Authority is entitled to unrestricted access to facilities, installations, records and documents of the service provider to determine compliance.

Facilities referred to in sub‑regulation (1) must be installed by licensed ATSEPs with relevant ratings.

Requires that the facility be commissioned to meet the specifications for that facility.

Names a "Division of service" and refers to the "aeronautical fixed service".

All Aeronautical Telecommunication Stations (including end and intermediate systems of the Aeronautical Telecommunication Network) must be protected from unauthorized direct or remote access.

Stations or aircraft operating agencies that request a change of another station's hours must request it as soon as possible after the need is known; such requesting stations or agencies are entitled to be informed of the result as soon as possible.

Kenya must designate an Authority to ensure the international aeronautical telecommunication service follows these Regulations; the authority that detects serious or repeated infringements must make representations to that designated Authority; the designated Authority must exchange information about communication, radio navigation, operation and maintenance systems and unusual transmission phenomena.

The Authority must ensure that no station wilfully transmits unnecessary or anonymous signals, messages, or data within Kenya.

Air Navigation Service Providers must take precautions (choice of frequency and time, reduce or suppress radiation if possible) to avoid harmful interference during tests and experiments and must eliminate any resulting interference as soon as possible.

Stations of the International Aeronautical Telecommunication Service must extend normal hours when required by the Authority to provide traffic necessary for flight operations; they must notify other stations when extending service or when intending to close down, continue watch for two minutes before closing if no calls are received, and stations with non-continuous hours engaged in distress/urgency/unlawful interference/interception traffic must extend hours to support those communications.

Air Navigation Service Providers must accept for transmission only messages in the categories specified in regulation 39.

Sets procedures for transmission and delivery of messages, including responsibilities for stations and the Authority, and formatting/reprocessing requirements for messages transmitted between mobile and fixed networks.

Stations in the Aeronautical Telecommunication Service must use Universal Co-ordinated Time; stations referred to in sub-regulation (1) must designate midnight as 2400 for the end of the day and 0000 for the start of the day; a date-time group consists of six figures (date, hours and minutes) in Universal Co-ordinated Time.

Aeronautical telecommunication stations must maintain telecommunication logs and make and retain clear, accurate entries; aeronautical stations must record messages on receipt, with limited exception during emergencies; aircraft distress records must include time, position and altitude; logs must be retained at least 30 days.

All stations must answer calls from other stations in the Aeronautical Telecommunication Service and exchange communications on request; all stations must radiate the minimum power necessary to ensure a satisfactory service.

The International Aeronautical Telecommunication Service must use abbreviations and codes when appropriate; the originator must provide a decode to the accepting Aeronautical Telecommunication Station if that station requires it when non‑Authority‑approved abbreviations or codes appear in a message.

The Telecommunication Station must cancel messages when the message originator authorizes the cancellation.

Data link messages for the Aeronautical Mobile Service must follow the composition specified in the Sixth Schedule to these Regulations.

Ground and airborne systems must allow messages to be displayed, printed when required, and stored so they can be retrieved.

Controller Pilot Data Link Communication procedures in aeronautical mobile service - data link communication shall be as specified in Sixth Schedule to these Regulations.

Systems and applications used in the Aeronautical Fixed Service, mentioning Air Traffic Services direct speech circuits and networks.

Material that is permitted in Aeronautical Fixed Services messages must be those items specified in the First Schedule (1.1) to these Regulations.

ATS direct speech communications must follow the Civil Aviation (Air Traffic Services) Regulations, 2018.

Section 37 names "Meteorological operational channels and meteorological operational telecommunication networks."

Distress messages (priority indicator SS) are messages sent by mobile stations reporting that they are threatened by grave and imminent danger or requesting immediate assistance.

Service messages must be prepared in the format specified in regulation 56; include the ICAO three-letter designator YFY followed by an appropriate 8th letter when addressed to a station identified only by a location indicator; be assigned an appropriate priority indicator; use the same priority when referring to previously transmitted messages; corrections must be addressed to all addressees who received the incorrect transmission; replies go to the station which originated the initial service message; texts must be concise; except for acknowledgements of SS messages, service messages must begin with the abbreviation SVC; references to previously handled messages must use the appropriate transmission identification or the filing time and originator indicator groups.

Priority 1 transmissions are messages with priority indicator SS.

Messages having the same priority indicator must be transmitted in the order in which they are received for transmission.

If an Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network is used, the routing and supervision of message traffic must be as specified in the Second Schedule to these Regulations.

If an Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network is used and there is a communications failure, the requirements in the Second Schedule to these Regulations (1.3) shall be used.

Certain Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network stations and centres must retain specified message copies or records for at least 30 days.

Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Networks communication centres must keep a full copy of all retransmitted or relayed messages for at least one hour; where acknowledgement occurs between centres a relay centre has no further responsibility for a positively acknowledged message and may delete it from its records.

Test procedures on Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Networks channels.

Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Networks origin station must not enter Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Networks messages longer than 2 100 characters.

Section 48. Stripped address.

The station must follow the Second Schedule when post-origination text errors are found, and must take the action in sub-regulation (2) if during origination it becomes obvious the message will be cancelled.

A predetermined distribution system for Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Networks messages shall be used when the Administrations concerned have agreed to use such a system.

All messages using International Alphabet No. 5 (IA-5) must comply with the format set out in the Third Schedule to these Regulations.

Action on mutilated messages in International Telegraph Alphabet No. 5 detected in computerized Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network relay stations shall be as specified in the Third Schedule to these Regulations.

Messages must start with an alignment function followed by the address; the heading line of the message must be omitted (except as provided in (c)).

The Air Traffic Services Message Handling Service application shall be used to exchange air traffic services messages between users over the Aeronautical Telecommunication Network internet in accordance with the Fourth Schedule to these Regulations.

The Inter-Centre Communications applications set shall be used to exchange Air Traffic Services messages between air traffic service users over the Aeronautical Telecommunication Network internet.

Sets procedures and phraseology rules for aeronautical mobile service voice communications.

The categories of messages handled by the Aeronautical Mobile Service and the order of priority for communications and message transmission must follow Table 1.1 in the Fifth Schedule of these Regulations.

Communications relating to direction finding must be handled in accordance with these Regulations.

Section title: "Composition of flight safety messages" and text listing "movement and control messages."

Meteorological messages must comprise meteorological information to or from aircraft, except those specified in regulation 61.

The section concerns the composition of flight regularity messages.

Air Traffic Services units using direct pilot-controller communication channels are required to handle flight regularity messages only when doing so does not interfere with their primary role and when no other channels are available.

Messages that have the same priority must be transmitted in the order they were received for transmission.

Inter-pilot air-to-air communication must comprise messages related to any matter affecting safety and regularity of flight; the category and priority of these messages shall be determined by their content in accordance with regulation 59.

Stations must cancel or instruct cancellation of message transmissions in specified circumstances and use an appropriate radiotelephony phrase.

Radiotelephony procedures for Aeronautical Mobile Service voice communication must follow the Fifth Schedule of these Regulations.

Radiotelephony communication procedures for Aeronautical Mobile Service — Voice communication shall be as specified in the Fifth Schedule to these Regulations.

Stations addressed by or first acknowledging calls from aircraft subject to unlawful interference must render all possible assistance and notify appropriate units or persons to facilitate the flight.

Non-continuously operating aeronautical radio navigation aids must, if practicable, be put into operation on receipt of a request from an aircraft, a controlling authority on the ground, or an authorised representative of an aircraft operating agency; the local Aeronautical Information Service unit must be furnished without delay with essential information about changes in the operational status of non-visual aids for pre-flight briefing and dissemination.

Rules for requesting, transmitting and reporting direction-finding bearings, headings and positions between aircraft stations and direction-finding/aeronautical stations, including required phrases, transmission formats, confirmation, and classification of observation accuracy.

The originator must prepare a text of broadcast material in the form desired for transmission.

Broadcast stations must make broadcasts on specified frequencies at specified times and publicize schedules; stations must terminate transmissions promptly at the end of allotted times; stations in sequential broadcasts must be ready to commence at designated times and the following station must wait and then start at its own time if a previous station fails to start.

If a station's service is interrupted, another station must broadcast if possible; if that is not possible and the broadcast is intended for interception by fixed stations, stations required to copy must keep listening on the specified frequencies until normal service resumes.

Radiotelephone transmissions must be natural, short and concise; speech rate must not exceed 100 words per minute; each broadcast preamble must include general call and station name, optionally time (UTC).

A person may apply to the Authority for an exemption from any provision of these Regulations.

If application requirements are incomplete, the Authority must ask the applicant in writing to comply before publication or a decision; if the request is for emergency relief the Authority must publish the decision as soon as possible after processing the application.

The Authority must notify applicants in writing of the decision on an exemption request and publish a detailed summary of its evaluation and decision; the Authority may deny an exemption if a technical evaluation would impose a significant burden; if many are affected the Authority must publish the summary in an aeronautical information circular.

Persons who perform functions under these Regulations may be tested for drug or alcohol usage; refusal or conviction can lead to denial, suspension or revocation of licences or authorisations, sometimes for up to one year.

The Authority must return the originals specified under paragraph (2) to the holder of a certificate, with appropriate changes applied if any, and may retain copies where necessary.

Holders of Air Navigation Services Provider certificates must notify the Authority of any change to their physical and mailing address within fourteen days; failure to notify means they shall not exercise the privileges of the certificate.

A person may apply to the Authority in the prescribed form to replace documents issued under these Regulations if the documents are lost or destroyed.

Persons must not issue certificates or exemptions unless authorised by the Authority, and must not issue certificates referred to in sub‑regulation (3) unless they have satisfied themselves that the statements are correct and the applicant is qualified.

People who know of a violation must report it to the Authority; the Authority may decide what investigation or enforcement action is needed.

Any person who fails to comply with any direction given to him by the Authority or by any authorised person under any provision of these Regulations shall be deemed to have contravened that provision.

The Authority must notify in writing the fees for certificates, tests, inspections or investigations; applicants must pay applicable fees before their applications are accepted; and the Authority must not refund fees if the application is withdrawn, ceases to have effect, or is refused.

A person who contravenes any provision of these Regulations may have his certificate or exemption cancelled or suspended.

If a person's act or omission that would otherwise be a contravention was due to a cause not avoidable by the exercise of reasonable care by that person, the act or omission is deemed not to be a contravention.

Any person aggrieved by an order under these Regulations may appeal to the National Civil Aviation Administrative Review Tribunal within twenty one days of the order being made.

People already carrying out acts affected by these Regulations must comply with the Regulations within one (1) year of commencement or stop those activities, unless the Cabinet Secretary prescribes a longer period by Gazette notice.