Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has raised its Airport Rescue and Firefighting Services (ARFFS) staff by 43 per cent after 98 officers completed training, taking the total number of personnel to 326.
The new recruits were drawn from every one of the 47 counties and include 30 women; they finished a four-month programme at the KAA Training Academy that covered aircraft rescue, airport building fires and the regulations that govern 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, urging graduates to learn from seasoned officers, uphold high safety standards and asking supervisors to give practical exposure.
The hiring surge comes as KAA-managed airports handled 12.2 million passengers between July 2025 and May 2026 and recorded 285,500 aircraft movements, a 3.2 per cent rise on the same period a year earlier; passenger traffic grew by 2.1 per cent over the period.
In May, aircraft movements across the network increased by 7.3 per cent, while movements at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport rose by 13.2 per cent, underscoring higher operational demand at the main hub.
Because firefighting needs depend on the types and sizes of aircraft served, the freshly graduated officers will first train on the job alongside experienced crews before taking on full duties.
The KAA Training Academy, certified by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, delivers specialised aviation training that meets International Civil Aviation Organization competency standards, and the enlarged workforce is expected to bolster KAA’s emergency response capacity as the aviation sector handles growing passenger volumes and aircraft movements.
