Risk Transfer Strategy and Performance of Air Safety Projects in Civil Aviation Industry in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The aviation industry plays a major role in the world economy and plays a key role in the realization of Kenya Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda. ICAO strives to implement practical and achievable measures to improve air safety and efficiency in the air transportation system, such as Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU) methodology. The KCAA Airspace Master Plan for 2015–2030 delivers a number of recommendations for the project implementation plan of CNS technologies that will supplement the airspace infrastructure in Kenya. Most of these recommendations stem from the priorities allocated to ICAO ASBU modules to meet the KCAA operational objectives. This project implementation plan is structured to cover Air Navigation Services (ANS). Performance of air safety projects has remained below the global targets in most African states and, consequently, high accident rates. Risk transfer strategy have been identified as one of the factors that affect project performance in other industries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of risk transfer strategy on the performance of air safety projects in the civil aviation industry in Nairobi County, Kenya. The specific objective of the study was to determine the influence of risk transfer strategy on the performance of air safety projects in the civil aviation industry in Kenya. The study was guided by Agency Theory. A descriptive research design was adopted, and the target population comprised 277 KCAA staff in the ANS department stationed in different stations in Nairobi County. Slovin’s formula was used to obtain a sample population of 164 from a target population of 277. The study used primary data that was gathered by administering questionnaires. Then the data were summarized and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics comprised mean, averages, and standard deviation, while inferential statistics comprised correlation and regression analysis. SPSS software was used to generate the statistics. The findings of the study were presented in the form of tables, frequencies, and percentages to ease interpretations and understanding. Findings from correlation and regression statistics indicated that risk transfer had a positive and significant influence on the performance of air safety projects in the civil aviation industry. This study strongly recommends that more research is required to confirm if the findings hold for other types of public institutions in the transport sector. Future researchers could look into risk transfer strategies in the context before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and how it impacts the performance of air safety projects in the civil aviation industry