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Cemair (Pty) Ltd can no longer operate as an airline or air operator or fly any of its twenty-one (21) aircraft.

This follows a decision by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) to suspend two (2) of CemAir’s Air Operator Certificates (AOCs).

The affected AOCs relate to the operator’s permits issued under Part 121 and Part 135 of the Civil Aviation Regulations.

The suspension became effective at around 15:30, when the airline was notified of the SACAA’s decision.

In addition, the SACAA’s audit team has also recommended to the Director of Civil Aviation to revoke CemAir’s AOCs.

The SACAA’s decision follows a thorough review of CemAir’s Corrective Action Plan (CAP), which sought to address the initial findings unveiled during the annual renewal audit, conducted this 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 the 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.

The SACAA also noted with concern that despite being issued with a Prohibition Order, CemAir knowingly continued to fly their aircraft in contravention of the applicable regulatory prescripts. This constitutes a material contravention that threatens aviation safety, and shows a total disregard for the role and responsibilities of the regulator. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable and intolerable!

In effect, and worryingly so, the Corrective Action Plan and subsequent action by the operator indicate that there has been material departure and a dereliction of duty on the part of the accountable manager, which clearly violates regulatory provisions.

These myriad of identified non-compliances bring to the fore the fact that the actions and conduct of this operator pose serious and immediate threat to safety. As such, if the SACAA does not take immediate action to stop the misconduct, it would inadvertently abandon its role as mandated by the Department of Transport on behalf the people of South Africa and the global aviation community.

Issued by The South African Civil Aviation Authority