CemAir (5Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has resecured its CAR Part 121 and 135 Air Operator's Certificates (AOC), the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has announced.

The South African ACMI/charter as well as scheduled passenger specialist's original AOCs lapsed in January this year after SACAA refused to renew them on the grounds the airline had failed to adhere to proper maintenance standards. However, in April, the South African Department of Transport's Civil Aviation Appeal Committee (CAAC) overturned SACAA's decisions on the grounds the regulator had shown bias in its treatment of CemAir.

CemAir subsequently began recertification during which time SACAA carried out an audit of the airline. During the review, SACAA says several discrepancies in the airline's Aircraft Maintenance Programme (AMP) were revealed and were brought to the attention of CemAir.

"The approvals come after a period of divergence between the airline and regulator on regulation compliance matters that included systemic and procedural non-compliances, which led to the suspension of the operator’s Part 121 and Part 135 AOCs. After several legal processes, the SACAA eventually continued to finalise the AOCs renewal audit, which is an obligatory audit consistent with its statutory mandate," it said.

"This culminated in the submission of Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), for assessment and approval by the SACAA, aimed at addressing the audit findings. After several interactions, the revised CAPs for both Part 121 and 135 were found to be satisfactory."

According to SACAA, in relation to its Part 121 AOC, CemAir requested the CRJ200/CL600-2B19 be excluded in favour of the DHC-8.

As it stands, SACAA said CemAir will operate six aircraft on its Part 121 AOC - five Dash 8s and one CRJ900 - and a single Beech 1900D on its Part 135 AOC.

"Out of a fleet of 21 aircraft, CemAir is authorized to operate only (7) aircraft at this stage. The rest will return to service as and when Cemair presents them to the SACAA for inspection and evaluation and they are found to be compliant.

"The SACAA will continue to monitor to ensure that CemAir’s operations are compliant to the obligations required for holders of such approvals as prescribed in the civil aviation regulations," it ended.

CemAir said in its own statement that it will shortly announce the resumption of scheduled passenger flights throughout South Africa.

"We expect to provide our leisure destinations of Margate and Plettenberg Bay with flights for the upcoming holiday season with the possible addition of other destinations," it said.