An arbitration hearing in a Gauteng High Court has ruled in favour of South African Express (EXY, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) in its dispute with Solenta Aviation (SET, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo).

The case dates back to 2017 when Solenta grounded three E145s that it had been wet-leasing to SA Express citing the latter's non-payment of ZAR87.3 million rand in debt owed for services rendered over the period October 2016 to June 2017.

SA Express subsequently claimed the grounding was a breach of contract and constituted a repudiation of the lease contract, a claim Solenta rejected. Solenta also rejected SA Express's proposed debt repayment plan and attempted to use it as an acknowledgement of indebtedness and an act of insolvency under South Africa's Insolvency Act. In July 2017, Solenta filed an application in a Gauteng High Court to have SA Express liquidated on the grounds it was unable “to discharge its indebtedness”.

However, in November of that year, Solenta withdrew its application while agreeing to resolve the dispute by means of arbitration.

According to the South African Government News Agency, the arbitration hearing took place on Monday, January 28, following which the arbiter ruled that the matter was a contractual dispute and did not warrant an application for liquidation.

“It is unfortunate that the dispute had to drag on for such a prolonged period of time, but we are just relieved that the matter is now behind us and we can now focus on the core business of restoring SA Express’s fortunes as we continue on our quest to reclaim the airline’s mettle as a leader in the local and regional aviation industry,” SA Express's interim CEO Siza Mzimela said in a statement.

Solenta Aviation did not respond for comment.