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Mozambique’s flag carrier, Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), is putting together the necessary conditions to obtain licences for Maputo-Lisbon flights, Fly Modern Ark (FMA), the South African entity responsible for the carrier’s recovery strategy, said on Tuesday.
Sérgio Matos, the FMA representative, said at a press conference that LAM is committed to obtaining the necessary authorisations to use Lisbon airport and slot management schedules.
“LAM stopped flying to Lisbon in 2012 and, since then, has not updated its licences and has lost all its licences,” he said.
The carrier had planned to resume the route between the Mozambican and Portuguese capitals this month, but the operation was postponed due to the need to obtain the appropriate authorisations, he continued.
The carrier is also in the process of settling debts from the time it flew to Lisbon, until it suspended the operation 11 years ago, said Sérgio Matos.
The reactivation of the Maputo-Lisbon route is part of the strategy to internationalise LAM’s operations as part of the company’s recovery.
In May, Sérgio Matos told a press conference that the rescue plan for the Mozambican flag carrier also included exploring new destinations, such as Brazil, India, Dubai and China.
As part of its recovery plan, LAM inaugurated the Maputo-Lusaka, Johannesburg-Vilankulo and Johannesburg-Beira routes this year, as well as inter-provincial routes.
Sérgio Matos said today that LAM has reduced its debt by 57 million euros since April and continues to recover.
When Fly Modern Ark took over management of the state-owned airline in April, LAM had an estimated debt of around $300 million (€277.7 million), according to figures provided at the time.
The company’s revitalisation strategy follows years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet and lack of investment, with some incidents, not fatal, linked by experts to inefficient aircraft maintenance.
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