CemAir

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Airline in South Africa

title: "CemAir" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["airlines-of-south-africa", "airlines-established-in-2005", "companies-based-in-johannesburg"] description: "Airline in South Africa" topic_path: "geography/south-africa" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CemAir" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Airline in South Africa ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox airline"]

Field	Value
airline	CemAir
logo	CemAir_Logo.png
IATA	5Z
ICAO	KEM
callsign	CEMAIR
founded
hubs	O. R. Tambo International Airport
frequent_flyer	SkyRewards
fleet_size	30+ (2026)
headquarters	Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa
key_people	Miles van der Molen (CEO)
website
focus_cities	Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
destinations	15, across South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe (2026)
::

CemAir is a South African airline headquartered in Johannesburg. Founded in 2005, the airline operates scheduled domestic flights across South Africa as well as regional services within Africa.

CemAir’s network includes key business and leisure destinations, and the airline is known for serving several smaller or underserved airports. As of January 2026, CemAir flies to 15 destinations, including 11 in South Africa, 2 in Botswana, and 2 in Zimbabwe.

In addition to its scheduled operations, CemAir provides aircraft leasing, charter services, and ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) solutions to other carriers.

The airline operates a fleet of over 30 aircraft that includes Bombardier CRJ, Beechcraft 1900, and De Havilland Dash 8 models, offering full-service amenities such as checked baggage and onboard catering. Over the years, CemAir has expanded its route network and service offering, positioning itself as a growing independent carrier in the Southern African aviation market.

History

The company was formed in 2005 with the purpose of operating turboprop commuter aircraft, with the initial fleet consisting of 1 Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft and 3 Beechcraft 1900C aircraft.

In January 2018, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) withdrew the Certificate of Airworthiness for 12 of CemAir's aircraft, due to allegedly unqualified personnel certifying the aircraft as airworthy. It was subsequently forced by the authorities to suspend operations in late 2018.

The airline successfully launched a High Court challenge, and the grounding was overturned. The CAA then again grounded the Airline in January 2019 and CemAir challenged the decision before the Civil Aviation Appeal Committee. On 29 April 2019, the CAAC issued a judgement in favour of the airline, calling the CAA's actions "irrational, arbitrary, unreasonable and procedurally unfair" and "factually wrong."

In January 2021, CemAir signed an interline agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.

Operations

CemAir's hub in Johannesburg features a 1,800 sqm hangar, offices, and a 2,000 sqm private apron, for managing flight operations, maintenance (performed in-house), and administration.

Destinations

Charter operations

Based at OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa, a large portion of the fleet is deployed outside of South Africa. The main foreign deployments are to the Caribbean and West Africa.

Scheduled destinations

Most (11) of CemAir's 15 destinations are in South Africa, with 4 of them located elsewhere in Southern Africa. As of January 2026, CemAir operates flights to the following destinations:

Domestic (South Africa)

International

Harare, Zimbabwe - Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport
Kasane, Botswana - Kasane Airport
Maun, Botswana - Maun Airport
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - Victoria Falls Airport

Fleet

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Cemair_B1900D_ZS-OMB_(24688522730).jpg" caption="Beechcraft 1900D"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Cemair_CL600-2B19_CRJ-100ER_ZS-CMB_(24002529411).jpg" caption="CemAir [[Bombardier CRJ200"] ::

, CemAir operates the following aircraft:

::data[format=table]

Aircraft	In Fleet	Orders	Passengers
Beechcraft 1900D	5	—	19
Bombardier CRJ100/CRJ200	9	—	50
Bombardier CRJ700	3	—	70
Bombardier CRJ900	9	—	90
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100	1	—	37
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q300	3	—	50
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400	4	—	78
::

Accidents and incidents

CemAir suffered two hull losses in 2008 with aircraft leased out to 3rd parties, one in South Sudan and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On 2 May 2008, a CemAir-owned Beechcraft 1900 - registered in Kenya and operated by Kenyan-based Flex Air Cargo - was flying from Wau to Juba, South Sudan when it crashed near Rumbek, killing all nineteen passengers and two crew. Among the passengers were two senior officials of the Sudan People's Liberation Army and their wives.
On 1 September 2008, an Air Serv-leased nineteen passenger Beechcraft 1900C crashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 15 km northwest of Bukavu carrying two crew and fifteen passengers. The aircraft was wet leased at the time and flown by crew from CemAir, which was then based at Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight was arriving at Bukavu following technical service at N'Dolo Airport, Kinshasa. The aircraft crashed into a mountainous ridge. Passengers included twelve Congolese, one French, one Indian, and one Canadian. All 17 occupants were killed.

References

"CemAir - SkyRewards". CemAir.
(November 2016)
"CemAir - Destinations". CemAir.
"CemAir Homepage". CemAir.
"Judgement".
"CemAir grounded over safety concerns". Independent Online.
"CemAir flights still grounded after failed court bid". Fin24.
(13 May 2019). "CAA's 'irrational' decision to ground CemAir is overturned". BusinessLIVE.
"Ethiopian Airlines – oft cited as a possible SAA saviour – just did a local deal".
(September 2025). "Global Airline Guide 2025 - CemAir".
[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article26976 "South Sudan declares three-day mourning for crash victims"] ''[[Sudan Tribune]]'' 3 May 2008
[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7593405.stm "'No survivors' in DR Congo crash"] ''[[BBC News]]'' 2 September 2008
Joe Bavier [https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL266824920080902?sp=true "Aid plane crashes in Congo, no sign of survivors"] ''[[Reuters]]'' 2 September 2008
link. (2008-09-04)
(2008-09-02). "Discussion about airplane crashed in Congo".
[https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27892&Cr=democratic&Cr1=congo "Aid plane with 17 on board crashes in eastern DR Congo"] [[United Nations]] [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] (OCHA), 2 September 2008
[https://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=17199&Cr=RDC&Cr1=OCHA "RDC: Un avion humanitaire de l'ONU avec 17 personnes à bord s'écrase dans l'est"] (in French) [[United Nations]] [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] (OCHA), 2 September 2008
[http://www.radiookapi.net/index.php?i=53&a=20151 "Crash d’avion près de Bukavu, 17 morts"] (in French) [[Radio Okapi]], 2 September 2008
[http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2386836,00.html "SA pilot killed in DRC crash"] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-09-08 ''[[News24 (website)). News24]]'' 2 September 2008
[http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkYN3vME5I3fy54kQQH9F-teBpxA "Crash au Kivu: les secours n'ont pas encore pu atteindre l'épave, selon l'ONU"] (in French) 3 September 2008 {{webarchive. link. (September 6, 2008)
"ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900C-1 ZS-OLD Bukavu-Kavumu Airport (BKY)".

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