South African court orders CemAir AOC reinstated

Regional carrier CemAir, grounded Dec. 13 by the South African Civil Aviation Authority for alleged operational violations, won a court battle Dec. 18 to have its air operator’s certificate restored. CemAir’s AOC was suspended after the SACAA determined that the airline did not have a qualified staff member in the position of “responsible person: flight operations” and had operated some of its aircraft outside permitted weight and balance limits. The airline strongly rejected both claims and took its case to the country’s Supreme Court Dec. 18, submitting an urgent application to overturn the regulator’s decision. The court agreed late Dec. 18 that the suspension should be rescinded. “In the coming hours, we will announce our plans to restore service as soon as possible. We thank you for your continued support and offer our sincerest apology to everyone affected by our grounding,” CemAir said in a statement on its website. The carrier, which operates a 21-strong fleet of Beechcraft 1900D turboprops, Bombardier CRJ 100/200/900s and Bombardier Dash 8-100/Q300/Q400 turboprops, intends to resume operations Dec. 20, according to South African media reports.<br/>