Mozambique: No date set for resumption of international flights – Carta

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Mozambique: No date set for resumption of international flights – Carta

4:03 CAT | 07 Aug 2020

in file CoM

In a communication to the nation this Wednesday (5th) decreeing a new 30-day State of Emergency, President of the Republic Filipe Jacinto Nyusi spoke of the need to expedite the resumption of international flights, but without specifying the date, although on 28 June last he announced the resumption of reciprocal air connections with selected (unspecified) countries.

In his 28th of June communication, the head of state justified the urgency of resuming international flights as allowing the travel of “experts, managers and investors, to boost tourism and business” in the country.

In the following days, the Civil Aviation Institute of Mozambique (IACM) told ‘Carta de Moçambique’ that by July 10 it would have the list of countries with which Mozambique was going to make air connections, although it would require the government’s endorsement. However, to date, no country on the list is known.

A month later, specifically last Wednesday, Nyusi again addressed the subject, also without specifying dates. “We will speed up the resumption of international flights that respect the prevention and sanitary control of passengers and planes. On this matter, the rules will be clearly defined,” the president said.

The government’s caution aims to prevent the importation of new cases of Covid-19, which may contribute to the collapse of the National Health System. However, the reality is that the international aviation business is practically at a halt, and several companies, including Mozambique Airlines (LAM), are accumulating losses.

June data collected by the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) indicate that air transport services registered an 85% drop in demand for domestic air passenger transport, leading to losses in the order of 87% of turnover, or about 658.7 million Meticais.

In addition, eight foreign companies were forced by Covid-19 to cancel flights to Mozambique: Angolan carrier TAAG, Portuguese carrier TAP (although it does make occasional repatriation flights), Kenya Airlines, South African Airlink, South Africa Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways.

The cancellation of flights by these companies represents a sharp fall in the revenues of public company Aeroportos de Moçambique.

The pandemic has also led Emirates Airlines to reschedule the start of flights to Mozambique from last June to next August.

By Evaristo Chilingue

Source: Carta de Moçambique