The Johannesburg High Court has found against the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) on a legal technicality in two ongoing cases brought by FlyCemAir and its CEO, Miles van der Molen, against the SACAA, relating to the airline's lengthy grounding in 2018 and 2019.

The judgment was made in two related civil cases brought in 2021 - FlyCemAir and Van der Molen are suing the CAA for nearly R170 million (€8.3m) in damages.

According to aviation insights website ch-aviation.com, the judgment handed down concerns about certain legal aspects of the case - the court dismissed exceptions brought by the SACAA regarding the application of the Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act.

Van der Molen’s case alleges a breach by the CAA of its statutory duties towards the airline and the claims include one against airworthiness inspector Simphiwe Salela.

In addition, Van der Molen is also suing for what he deems defamatory statements made by the CAA and published on its website, which related to the grounding.

FlyCemAir says the CAA violated its statutory duties by grounding FlyCemAir’s entire fleet of aircraft without reasonable cause. FlyCemAir also says the CAA and one of its officials took the decisions intentionally, in bad faith, and in a manner that was unfair.

The aviation authority in 2018 grounded FlyCemAir’s fleet on two separate occasions, the second in December 2018, when FlyCemAir was accused of contravening the Civil Aviation Act and five other civil aviation regulations.

The company alleges that as a result, it suffered damages amounting to R130 million (€6.4m). It seeks further damages of R40 million (€1.9m) due to the statements made about the airline on the CAA website, in which Van der Molen said the CAA alleged there had been a dereliction of duty on his part in relation to an incident in which he had been involved.