<PAGE>



                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.2


                CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
                       AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302
                        OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002


I, Gilberto M. Duarte, Jr., Chief Financial Officer of World Air Holdings, Inc.
certify that:

1) I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of World Air Holdings,
   Inc.;

2) Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a
   material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
   statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
   were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
   report;

3) Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
   information included in this report, fairly present in all material
   respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of
   the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4) The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
   establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
   in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

     (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
     disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
     ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its
     consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
     entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
     prepared;

     (b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
     procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
     effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of
     the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

     (c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
     control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most
     recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
     to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial
     reporting; and

5) The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our
   most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
   registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
   directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

     (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
     operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably
     likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process,
     summarize and report financial information; and

     (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
     employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control
     over financial reporting.

Date:   08/15/05                                     /s/ Gilberto M. Duarte, Jr.
        --------                                     ---------------------------
                                                     Gilberto M. Duarte, Jr.
                                                     Chief Financial Officer
                                                     of World Air Holdings, Inc.