LAM cancels flights to Nampula and Lichinga due to technical problems

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

LAM cancels flights to Nampula and Lichinga due to technical problems

9:41 CAT | 27 Mar 2017

File photo

More than 100 Mozambique Airlines (LAM) passengers bound for Nampula and Lichinga, were unable to depart from Maputo International Airport on Sunday due to technical problems.

Some passengers for Nampula had been delayed since Saturday afternoon because of the same problem and spent the night in a hotel, but the bulk of the passengers were those booked on the 6:30 p.m. flight this Sunday.

Some passengers told Folha de Maputo that the flight was rescheduled more than five times, during which time the passengers boarded twice, at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., but whenever the aircraft was about to leave, the pilot announced technical problems and ordered the passengers to disembark.

The worst aspect of the situations, to some passengers’ mind, was the lack of communication and poor service. One passenger reported that passengers who had been at the airport since 5:30 a.m. were only provided a meal at 12:00 noon.

According to LAM technicians, the malfunction was due to the delay in the maintenance of the Poelela flight, one of the company’s largest aircraft. As a result, the flight to Lichinga was cancelled and moved to Tuesday, while the Nampula flight was still awaiting resolution, with passengers given the option of waiting to board at 8:45 pm today or deferring their flight to a later date.

Around 6:00 p.m., LAM announced the cancellation of the flight to Quelimane, in Zambézia province.

In addition to passengers in Maputo, others at Nampula, Lichinga and Quelimane airports travelling to Maputo and elsewhere suffered similar scenarios.

Latest information indicates that the Maputo-Beira flight, which was due to depart at 7:30 p.m., was also cancelled, compromising not only general passengers, but also Mozambique’s national soccer team, the ‘ Mambas’, who have a friendly game against Ethiopia scheduled for this Tuesday at the Ferroviário da Beira sports ground.

Source: Folha de Maputo