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The South African Civil Aviation Authority confirmed on Thursday that it had re-issued two CemAir Air Operator Certificates.
The two certificates pave the way for CemAir to conduct operations under Part 121 and Part 135 of the civil aviation regulations. The Part 121 certificate means that CemAir can now resume commercial air transport operations with an aircraft that can carry more than 19 passengers.
The Part 135 approval allows the airline to conduct commercial air transport operations with an aircraft that can carry up to a maximum of 19 passengers.
According to SACAA, 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 airline's Part 121 and Part 135 certificates.
"After several legal processes, the SACAA eventually continued to finalise the AOCs renewal audit, which is an obligatory audit consistent with its statutory mandate," the regulating body says in the statement.
SACAA explains that the renewal of an AOC is not automatic, as it is based on the satisfactory completion of a renewal audit process as stipulated in the South African civil aviation regulations.
During the CemAir audit, several discrepancies came to the fore and were brought to the attention of the airline by means of audit reports.
"Further engagements between CemAir and the SACAA ensued, with the aim of addressing the identified shortcomings," says SACAA.
"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.
"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," said SACAA.
"South Africa has maintained a good safety record for over 30 years in the scheduled and airline operations category. Moreover, all operators who carry passengers from one airport to another must ensure at all times that they fully comply with aviation regulations."
