Airlines suspend cargo services at Hosea Kutako

QATAR Airways, Ethiopian Airways, and also the South African cargo general sales agency and management service provider ATC Aviation have all suspended cargo operations to and from Hosea Kutako International Airport.

This move follows the eviction of aviation services company Menzies Aviation (Namibia) from the airport over the past weekend.

Paragon Aviation Services took over ground handling services at the airport, which have been provided by Menzies since 2014, on Saturday.

The German airline Eurowings is reportedly expected to follow suit in implementing the embargo in the near future.

Yesterday, Eurowings was locked in a meeting to discuss the implications of the recent developments at the airport.

This marks the second time that airlines have imposed a cargo embargo in the wake of a decision of the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) to have ground handling services at the airport taken over by Paragon.

The latest decision arises from concerns regarding security, accreditation and audits which have yet to be resolved.

Aviation industry sources indicate that the airlines are unable to operate with Paragon due to the absence of a signed agreement.

Furthermore, Paragon has allegedly not yet attained security accreditation or been audited according to European standards, as mandated by Qatar Airways and Eurowings.

Insiders advise that Paragon must establish agreements with the airlines and undergo the necessary audits to resolve the situation.

ATC Aviation has informed its clients that the embargo is a response to ongoing strikes at the airport’s cargo terminals.
When approached for comment, the NAC referred all enquiries to Paragon.

Paragon spokesperson Lazarus Jacobs disputed the allegations against the company, emphasising Paragon’s dedication to client service and passenger well-being.

“The lies, innuendo, agendas and propaganda will be dealt with tomorrow in a statement. We are focused on the task at hand,” he said.
Jacobs, in a statement to the tourism industry, said Paragon would no longer issue statements due to ongoing legal proceedings.

“This precaution was taken to ensure that the integrity of the case remained intact,” he said.

Works and transport minister John Mutorwa welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss an appeal against a High Court judgement in which the eviction of Menzies Aviation from Hosea Kutako International Airport was ordered, emphasising adherence to the rule of law and praising the court’s impartiality.

“We fully support the decision by the Supreme Court. We are a country ruled by laws and those laws must be applied fairly, and that is what the Supreme Court has done,” he said.

Menzies Aviation is currently contesting the NAC’s decision to award the ground handling contract to Paragon in a pending High Court case.

LEGAL CHALLENGES

In a separate case in which judge Hannelie Prinsloo heard oral arguments in the High Court yesterday, Menzies Aviation is asking the court to order that possession of areas at the airport that Menzies rented from the NAC, and from which the deputy sheriff of the High Court evicted it during the early morning hours of Saturday, should be restored to the company.

Menzies is claiming that it was unlawfully evicted from the airport.

The company is arguing that a High Court order authorising its eviction from the airport – an order that the Supreme Court upheld in June this year – is no longer in existence, and that the NAC should now give it 12 months’ notice to vacate the premises it has been using at the airport.

High Court judge Orben Sibeya declared near the end of June last year that Menzies’ contract to provide ground handling services at the airport would end on 30 June last year.

The judge also directed that Menzies should be evicted from the airport, and authorised the deputy sheriff of the High Court to carry out the eviction if the company refused to vacate the premises it has been occupying at the airport.

Menzies appealed against that judgement and continued to provide ground handling services at the airport after lodging its appeal.
The Supreme Court dismissed the company’s appeal on 9 June this year.

Menzies then launched fresh legal proceedings in which it challenged a notice in which the NAC informed it that it should cease its operations at the airport on 13 June.

The company also tried to have the court’s order for its eviction suspended.

In a judgement delivered on 8 August, judge Shafimana Ueitele refused to suspend the order for the company’s eviction, but declared that the notice given to Menzies by the NAC after the Supreme Court’s judgement was unreasonable, and set aside that notice.

In the same judgement, Ueitele said a reasonable notice period would be 30 days.

Following that judgement, the NAC notified Menzies to vacate the airport by 10 September, but the company refused to accept that notice.

Menzies has also filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against part of Ueitele’s judgement.

According to the NAC, the appeal filed by Menzies has the effect that the orders given by Ueitele have been suspended, and that the orders given by Sibeya near the end of June last year and upheld by the Supreme Court remain valid and should be enforced.

After hearing arguments on Menzies’ latest application yesterday, Prinsloo said she would deliver her judgement in the matter on 1 September.

Jacobs confirmed that Paragon Aviation Services will continue to provide ground handling services at Hosea Kutako International Airport in the interim.