Mozambique: Flag carrier LAM to start Johannesburg – Inhambane flights

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Mozambique: Flag carrier LAM to start Johannesburg – Inhambane flights

12:02 CAT | 29 Sep 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Ministério da Cultura e Turismo ]

Mozambique’s flag carrier LAM will be linking Johannesburg, South Africa, to Inhambane, the capital of the province of the same name, one of Mozambique’s main tourist attractions, the state-owned airline announced on Thursday.

According to commercial information released by the airline, the first of these direct flights will take place this Friday, with the company also operating connections on Wednesdays and Sundays.

In August, when the resumption of this connection was announced, the minister of culture and tourism emphasised the importance of this route, as it is the “main leisure destination” in Mozambique.

“The return of Mozambique Airlines to this route is only right, given its importance in the value chain for the consolidation and promotion of national tourism, as its intervention opens up better prospects for involving and encouraging more Mozambican players in tourism,” Eldevina Materula said.

With 700 kilometres of coastline with crystal-clear beaches and green coastal dunes, the province of Inhambane has 789 tourist resorts, according to the figures presented by the minister, who stressed that these employ “around 7,000 workers, contributing around 10% of the total of 8,154 resorts and 70,718 workers” in the sector throughout the country.

Mozambican airline LAM is also planning to resume flights from Maputo to Lisbon on 20 November, the director of the South African company that the Mozambican government has put in charge of the flag carrier since April announced.

“We plan to resume this route on 20 November. It’s vital and will change the face of the company,” said Theunis Crous, CEO of South Africa’s Fly Modern Ark (FMA), at a meeting with journalists in Maputo on 14 September.

LAM has previously stated that it is committed to obtaining the appropriate authorisations to use Lisbon airport and slot management schedules, where it stopped flying to in 2012 when it lost these licences.

Theunis Crous added that the company has negotiated the hire of a Boeing 737 freighter to handle cargo transport within the country and abroad, namely to South Africa, and hopes to put a second one into service six months later.

“It’s an opportunity that could make the company profitable. Cargo transport is a very profitable business,” he insisted.

Theunis Crous also said that the FMA has raised $15 million (€14 million) in funding for LAM’s current operation, which is being expanded with new routes and aircraft, which translates into an increase in passengers, 57,000 today, compared to the previous average of 46,000 a month.

The ongoing strategy to revitalise the company follows years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet and a lack of investment, with some incidents, not fatal, associated by experts with inefficient aircraft maintenance.

Source: Lusa