This week, I had the privilege of representing AFRAA before Kenya's National Parliament Finance Committee on the Finance Bill 2026. The message was clear: the Finance Bill 2026, as it stands, puts African aviation at risk.
Together with International Air Transport Association (
@IATA) and the Kenya Association of Air Operators (Kenya Association of Air Operators (
@KenyaOperators)), we made a joint submission calling for the reversal of provisions that strip away long-standing tax exemptions for the aviation sector. Specifically, we pushed hard for the reinstatement of:
✈️ VAT exemptions on aircraft, spare parts, and navigational instruments
✈️ Import Declaration Fee and Railway Development Levy exemptions on aviation goods — currently piling on an additional 4.5% to import costs
Why does this matter? Because the numbers tell a powerful story.
Kenya's aviation sector contributes $3.3 billion to GDP and supports 460,000 jobs. It is the backbone of tourism, medical evacuation, humanitarian operations, and trade across East Africa. And yet, under these proposed changes, Kenya would become the only country in the region imposing 16% VAT on aircraft leasing and maintenance — actively pushing MRO business and investment elsewhere.
We've already seen 74 aircraft deregistered as a direct consequence. That is not a statistic. Those are jobs, connections, and opportunities lost.
The opportunity cost is just as stark. Reinstating these exemptions could:
🔹 Grow aviation revenue from $3.3B to $6.5B
🔹 Create over 300,000 additional jobs
🔹 Boost tourism receipts from KES 500B to KES 1.2T by 2030
🔹 Unlock $220M in fleet modernisation investment
African aviation deserves a policy environment that fuels growth, not one that grounds it.
#AfricanAviation #AFRAA #FinanceBill2026 #AviationAdvocacy #Kenya #IATA #KAAO #MRO #AviationPolicy