AOOA Guidelines on Category C Airfields in Zambia

Towards the end of 2022, the AOOA had had a number of meetings with CAA hosted by Mr Nathan Kaluba (CAA Director, Aerodrome Safety & Standards) including consensus-building consultations regarding the establishment of appropriate Standards and Specifications of Category C Airfields and Airstrips in Zambia. The recommendations reached at a meeting of 17/11/22 are available on request from the AOOA including a summary of minutes of that meeting.

Shortly after the meeting of 17/11/22, and in collaboration with the AOOA and representatives of principle operators of this DNPW Airstrip in the Lower Zambezi National Park (including Ian Stevenson of CLZ and Troy Page of Mwambashi Lodge), a CAA team led by Godfrey Kanyanta (CAA Aerodromes Inspector/Engineer) visited and surveyed Jeki Airstrip and reported back to the AOOA on this fruitful and collaborative field trip. The purpose of the visit was to determine requirements for improving this commercially important airstrip in good time for the 2023 tourist season in the face of widespread and serious concerns being expressed by aircraft owners, operators, and pilots in particular (because they are at the front-line of users) using this airstrip, one of Zambia’s busiest commercial-use airstrips in the country.

Meanwhile, the AOOA was also receiving requests for advice concerning existing or proposed Cat C Airfields from a number of airstrip owners and operators around the country.

Accordingly, with the benefit of the foregoing consultations with the CAA and other stakeholders, and the experience of our industry’s leading pilots and flight operations professionals, the AOOA has developed the following guidelines to assist our members and the wider community of aircraft owners and operators with navigating the respective processes of developing, improving, using and operating Cat C Airfields and Airstrips in Zambia:

1) First and foremost, anyone proposing to develop new or improve existing Category C Airfields and Airstrips in Zambia must coordinate proposals with and through the Zambia Civil Aviation Authority (ZCAA) and comply with the requirements of ZCARs PART 14.

2) According to (verbatim) ZCARs PART 14 - AERODROMES AND GROUND AIDS, 14.1.3.1.3, “Category C Aerodromes comprise public and private aerodromes, appropriate for use by aircraft of maximum certificated take off mass of twenty thousand kilograms or less, available for use by domestic air traffic”.

3) Owners and Operators of Category C Airfields and Airstrips are referred to Standards and Specifications published in ZCARs Part 14, particularly 14.3 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS and 14.4 CONSTRUCTION OF AERODROMES.

4) For non-Commercial (private) as well as Commercial (public) airstrip standards and specs, the CAA has assured us that it will be flexible with regard to the application of the regulations according to intended uses of an airstrip and anticipated users’ aircraft types and performances, to be specified on airstrip owners’ or operators’ applications.

5) While cognizant of the Authority’s declared flexibility regarding application of the regulations (Paragraph 4), for commercial (public) Airstrips and Airfields anticipating high commercial traffic volumes of Non-STOL SEL and MEL Aircraft, ranging from smaller commercial aircraft to (for example) Beechcraft Barons, Piper Chieftains, Cessna 400 series, King Airs and Cessna Caravans, we strongly recommend critical consideration of the following key benchmarks for determining the optimum standards and specifications of such Category C Airfields and Airstrips:

(i)  Rwy Orientation as close as possible to an ESE/WNW alignment with prevailing surface winds;

(ii)  Useable Rwy of at least 1200x30 mts, clear of obstacles;

(iii)  Turning circles/areas at both Rwy ends and Parking areas are required;

(iv)  Rwy Surfaces must be level, smooth, compacted (firm) Grass or Laterite/Gravel (no large loose stones), or of course approved surfacing such as concrete or asphalt, for all Rwy and Maneuvering Areas;

(v) Rwy Markers and Safety Equipment, Accessories and facilities as prescribed by ZCARs and associated AICs must be installed;

(vi)  Airfield and Airstrip Seasonality and known Hazards must be specified as appropriate.

(vii)  Airstrips must be inspected, registered and licensed as appropriate by CAA;

(viii)  Unauthorised works’ specs and hazardous structures or Rwy surfacing materials evident on any new or improved airfield or airstrip should not be expected to be approved by CAA.

As a note of clarification, commercial charter flight operators may use private airfields and airstrips provided that they have permission from the owners to do so, and provided that the Standards and Specifications of the airfields and airstrips concerned comply with the performance requirements of their aircraft.

Regarding the regulation of Category C Airfields and Airstrips in Zambia, the CAA has embraced policies of avoiding unnecessary over-regulation, and ensuring compliance requirements are as user-friendly as possible, but consequently therefore expect operators themselves to more effectively self-regulate and consistently conform to appropriate compliance requirements and operational limits of their aircraft and airstrips.

It should be appreciated by our industry players that if a commercial operator accepts a booking for an aircraft into any airfield or airstrip for which its performance is inadequate, and an incident or accident occurs there, then it should be expected that both CAA and the Operator’s insurers would want to know why the AOC holder accepted and conducted a booking for an “inadvisable” therefore potentially “unsafe” flight operation.

The “bottom line” is that it is in the interests of all airfield and airstrip owners and operators expecting high traffic diversity and volume, particularly from commercial charter aircraft, to ensure their airfields and airstrips meet the standards required, but equally for private and commercial air service operators themselves to comply with standards required for the safe and efficient conduct of their aircraft flight operations catering for Zambia’s growing market for international tourism and business visitors.