Civil Aviation grounds Cemair
SCORES of city residents have been left in the lurch after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) announced that Cemair airline can no longer operate as an airline or air operator or fly any of its 21 aircraft.
The suspension of the airline’s air operator certificates (AOCS) became effective on Thursday last week when the airline was notified of Sacaa’s decision.
The aviation authority’s audit team has also recommended to the director of Civil Aviation to revoke Cemair’s AOCS. The affected AOCS relate to the operator’s permits issued under Part 121 and Part 135 of the Civil Aviation Regulations.
Cemair had until Thursday to provide Sacaa with valid reasons why the certificate should not be revoked.
The airline allegedly contravened the Civil Aviation Act, and five other Sacaa regulations, according to Sacaa inspectors following a permit renewal audit.
The Joburg-based airline started flights between Kimberley and Johannesburg when SA Express was grounded.
It also operated flights between Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay as well as Cape Town and Hoedspruit,
According to Sacaa, the airline could neither produce nor demonstrate the appointment of an approved and qualified person for a critical position as required by the Civil Aviation Regulations.
On Thursday, Sacaa said its decision followed a thorough review of Cemair’s corrective action plan (CAP), which sought to address the initial findings unveiled during the annual renewal audit, conducted last week.
“The CAP or proposed remedial actions by Cemair were found to be unsatisfactory and did not adequately address the findings that were initially raised.
“In addition, records in Sacaa’s possession demonstrated that Cemair has been operating some aircraft outside of permissible loading (weight and balance) limits; meaning the weights of passengers and baggage declared by the flight crew were not the same with those recorded by the service provider contracted by Cemair,” said Sacaa.
Cemair knowingly continued to fly their aircraft in contravention of the applicable regulatory prescripts despite being issued with a prohibition order, said Sacaa.
“This constitutes a material contravention that threatens aviation safety ... This conduct is absolutely unacceptable and intolerable.”
Cemair released a statement on its Facebook page on which it stated: “Cemair deeply regrets that the CAA has issued an indefinite suspension of our Air Operating Certificates. This means that we cannot conduct commercial flights until further notice.
“We adamantly reject the reasons offered by the CAA for their decision. We are an airline deeply committed to safety and excellence, and have offered multiple reasonable solutions to the CAA’S stated concerns, all of which have been rejected, an indication of a malicious intent by the CAA to bring Cemair to its knees by grounding it unnecessarily at peak season.
“At this stage our hands are tied and we cannot offer alternative solutions to our customers. As such we advise you to book an alternative journey to your destinations and we will advise at the soonest possible time about a refund process for your booking with Cemair.
“We again apologise to our customers for the inconvenience, frustration and cost that this has and will cause at such a special time of year. We work hard to ensure that our business is part of your great holiday experience, so we can only offer our sincerest apologies for this situation.
“We will advise you as soon as we can. Please be patient as we work out the best possible solution to honour you as our clients in this situation.
“We thank you for your understanding and support over the years. Further press releases will be issued in due course.”
In May 2018, when Sacaa announced that they were grounding SA Express (SAX) for non-compliance, Cemair increased its frequencies.
This saw an increase in the capacity between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein and the airline started a direct service between Cape Town and Hoedspruit.
After a few days, Cemair started operating flights between Johannesburg and Kimberley. On May 29 the airline started operating direct flights between Johannesburg and Richards Bay. void’’ as there were no branch delegates.
‘’How can they say they invite me as an individual? That thing ... as far as the PAC is concerned, is null and void. We’ve already opened a fraud case for their usage of the forged letterheads of the PAC and the name and the logos of the PAC.
“They do not have an authority nor right to do so,’’ Moloto told reporters.
The PAC was formed in Soweto in 1959 with Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe as its founding leader.