Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) reaped big from the aviation industry as the sector which has continued to rebound to its pre-pandemic levels generated more revenue for the agency in the last financial year.

The Taxman’s Customs and Border Control (C&BC) Department revenue collection from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) hit Sh49.06 billion in the 2022/23 financial year, surpassing the Sh46.99 billion target.

On the back of an increase in cargo handling at JKIA, KRA’s collection of air navigation service charges, which is levied on planes landing at the airport, rose to Sh5.38 billion against a target of Sh4.8 billion.

Revenue collected from air passenger service charges at the airport also recorded tremendous growth, with KRA collecting Sh11.57 billion from the air passenger services charges.

Other than navigation and passenger charges, air operators also pay parking fees to Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) depending on the size of the aircraft. The passenger charges often go towards the development and promotion of the tourism sector.

“The excellent performance is also attributable to the various initiatives that have facilitated passengers and seamless clearance of cargo at the JKIA,” KRA said in a statement yesterday.

Air passenger charges for domestic travel was revised upwards in 2016 from Sh500 to Sh600 while that for international flight shot up to Sh5,000 from Sh4,000. Passenger travels at JKIA has been increasing gradually after the Covid-triggered lockdown that started in 2020. Kenya Airways’ passenger numbers, for instance, increased by 68 per cent to 3.7 million in 2022, with capacity increasing by 75 per cent, although both are yet to hit the preCovid-19 levels.

Passenger revenue

According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) air transport seat capacity and passenger totals globally had by last year reached an estimated 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with passenger revenue at around 72 per cent of its 2019 high point.

The number of air passengers carried from January to August of last year increased by an estimated 55 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. Aircraft flight departures increased by 28 per cent, with overall seat capacity growing by 32 per cent over the same period.

Kenya Revenue Authority has been trying to increase investment and efficiencies at major entries including airports, ports, and borders to seal revenue leaks and smuggling of illegal goods into the country with the support of the multi-agency team.

This has led to the deployment of baggage and cargo scanners, as well as the introduction of an automated risk management module in the integrated customs management system (iCMS). The taxman is, however, expected to revamp its infrastructure at the ports and borders by replacing obsolete scanners to boost customs revenues.

“The scanners facilitate faster clearance of cargo at the ports of entry. It now takes a minute to scan a container and approximately five minutes to analyse an image of the cargo contents,” KRA explained.