Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - CemAir in a statement on Sunday March 18, 2018 confirmed that the Bitou Municipality had issued a termination notice to the airline for the use of the Plettenberg Bay Airport.

The operator, however, said that Bitou’s letter provided no reason for this termination, but that the municipality’s media statement stated that CemAir “failed to honour an agreement with the municipality”.

“Although several requests have been made to Bitou to provide a copy of this agreement, at the time of writing nothing has been produced,” the statement read.

CemAir’s team said on March 27, 2014 CemAir signed a written agreement with Bitou Municipality for the provision of a scheduled air service to the town by making use of the Plettenberg Bay aerodrome.

“The agreement outlined the terms of use of the aerodrome and gave CemAir use of the facilities at no cost. Little maintenance had been performed at the airport in the previous decade and substantial improvements were required. The no-fee structure was an essential pre-requisite for CemAir to launch the service and make the necessary infrastructural upgrades to the airport. The entire cost of restoring the facility rested with CemAir. Everything from the paint on the walls, to repairs of the roof, to the installation of the gate onto the apron was provided by CemAir.”

The statement further read that in February last year CemAir proposed new terms for the use of the airport which included a five-year minimum lease and a fixed fee arrangement which was to be governed by a new formal agreement.

“Such an agreement would allow for further investment by CemAir in the airport as well as the upgrade of the service to a 78-seat Dash-8 Q400 aircraft. Although the municipality undertook to negotiate the new agreement this never took place and the municipality became unresponsive to enquiries. The municipality did however attempt to unilaterally accept the payment- offer from CemAir without binding themselves to any duration or performance obligations as outlined in the offer. It is this amount they now seek to recover as the so-called ‘provisions of an agreement that CemAir has not honoured’.”

Read more in the Knysna-Plett Herald on Thursday, and online.

Read a previous article: Bitou Municipality severs ties with CemAir.

ARTICLE: YOLANDé STANDER, CORRESPONDENT

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