Effects of Land Use Changes on Airport and Flight Safety; A Study of Wilson Airport, Kenya

Abstract

-The aviation sector is one of the most important sectors for any country especially its ability to: promote interconnectedness within countries as well as between countries. However, the sector faces many risks caused by various emergencies and accidents associated with the sector, and much so in the precincts of airports. The impact of these accidents causes monumental social, economic and environmental consequences to victims. The exponential growth of the sector in the country calls for special attention by relevant stakeholders to devise strategies to address disaster preparedness issues. This is especially due to the fact that the country has already experienced a number of aviation disasters and mishaps related to the industry. Consequently, this study sought to assess the effects of land use changes on airport and flight safety at Wilson Airport. This study was carried out at Wilson airport located in Nairobi West. The qualitative design was applied in this study to analyze and describe the effects of land use changes on airport and flight safety in a rapidly growing aviation sector. A total of 216 respondents were targeted by the study (including 150 members of the community, 30 aviation regulators, 30 air operators and 6 service providers) out of which 195 responded (including 132 members of the community, 28 aviation regulators, 29 air operators and 6 service provider) giving a response rate of 90%. Primary data was collected by use of questionnaires, interview guide and Focused Group Discussions while Secondary data were collected from written or published records and maps from the Kenya National Bureau of statistics. Quantitative data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The study found that 42 (74%) of the respondents indicated that land use changes have effect on flight safety. The land use changes included: setting up of major shopping malls near the airport, proximity of Uhuru gardens to the airport, adjacent Nairobi national park, Mitumba slums, upcoming high-rise development and existence of motor garages next to the airport. The results from correlation analysis showed that disaster preparedness is positively related with land use changes with a Pearson‟s Correlation Coefficient of r = 0.509 and that at a level of significance of 0.000 meaning that it is statistically significant as p value is less than 0.05. It was recommended that the government should do an urgent operation on land encroachment as this is perceived to be a disaster in the waiting.