Personnel Licensing – Cabin Crew Member Certificate (CMC)
This domain covers the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) personnel licensing rules for cabin crew: who must hold a Cabin Crew Member Certificate (CMC), what evidence supports issue, what the holder may do, and how validity is maintained. Exam questions typically test the boundary between the CMC, the operator's training, and the medical certificate.
When a CMC is required
A person performing cabin crew duties on a Kenyan-registered aircraft in commercial air transport must hold a valid CMC issued by KCAA. The CMC is a personnel certificate; it does not replace the operator's type-specific training or the medical assessment.
Issue requirements
- Minimum age 18 years.
- Completion of initial cabin crew training at a KCAA-approved cabin crew training organisation, covering safety equipment, evacuation, firefighting, first aid, dangerous goods, crew resource management and aviation security.
- A valid cabin crew medical assessment showing fitness for duty.
- Pass KCAA knowledge and practical assessments.
- English proficiency sufficient for safety-related duties.
- Application to KCAA Personnel Licensing with the prescribed forms and evidence.
Privileges and continuing validity
The holder may act as cabin crew only while the CMC, medical fitness and operator competency remain valid. Renewal depends on recurrent training and checking, a current medical, and timely application. A lapsed medical suspends the privilege even if the certificate card has not expired.
Worked example
An applicant presents a certificate from a training school that is not KCAA-approved, a current medical and a clean assessment record. The licensing officer refuses the CMC. Reasoning: approved training is a condition of issue; the other items cannot cure that defect. The applicant must complete training at an approved organisation before reapplying.
Traps
Do not confuse the CMC with the operator's type rating. Do not treat a training certificate as a licence. Do not assume a foreign cabin crew certificate is automatically valid in Kenya; a validation or conversion process applies. Do not overlook medical expiry.