South Africa's CemAir acquires sixteen ex-Delta CRJ100s ch-aviation PRO exclusive

The South African Government says it has withheld the disbursement of Post Commencement Finance (PCF) to South African Express (XZ, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) after the bankrupt carrier's business rescue practitioners (BRP) failed to present a "comprehensive and feasible" turnaround plan.

Last month, BRPs Phahlani Mkhombo and Daniel Terblanche urged the state-owned carrier's line ministry, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), to accelerate the disbursement of ZAR200 million rand (USD12.77 million) worth of funding allocated in South Africa's 2020/21 Budget to cover immediate debts as well as salaries for 1,000+ staff for February.

Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that as of March 8, SA Express's active fleet has now dwindled to just two CRJ200s and a single CRJ700. Its nine-strong Dash 8-400 fleet has also been inactive since February 28. While a Dash 8-300 has also been wet-leased in from CemAir (5Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) to cover select flights, the bulk of SA Express's network has suffered from mass cancellations. Given delays in the release of funds and a deteriorating operational environment,...

CemAir (5Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has announced it will resume scheduled passenger flight operations from November 8 onwards. The regional carrier's CAR Part 121 and 135 Air Operator's Certificates (AOC) were recently reissued by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) following their expiration in January this year.

According to a CemAir statement, initial services will cover Johannesburg O.R. Tambo to Margate. Thereafter, the airline's booking portal shows flights from each of Johannesburg and Cape Town to Plettenberg Bay will follow from November 28 onwards.

As of October 21, SACAA had authorized CemAir to operate five Dash 8s and one CRJ900 under its Part 121 AOC while its Part 135 charter AOC was home to a single Beech 1900D.