Mozambique: LAM is already sustainable – Minister | O País

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Mozambique: LAM is already sustainable – Minister | O País

2:43 CAT | 02 Dec 2024

Photo: O País

Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, says that Fly Modern Ark has fulfilled its mandate to restore sustainability to Mozambique Airlines and make them more competitive in the market, and now asks for patience so that the flag carrier can become robust again.

For more than a year, the South African company Fly Modern Ark was at the helm of Mozambique Airlines, with the mission of revitalizing and making the flag carrier more competitive in the market.

Speaking to the press this Friday, the Minister of Transport and Communications said that the South African company had successfully fulfilled its mission.

“The company was insolvent. It means it was going to close its doors. And in less than a month, they showed that no, it was not insolvent. That alone is a lot. It’s millions of dollars. Millions of dollars, in one month. So, if we cannot see this as a positive step, I think we are not being reasonable,” the minister said.

Furthermore, the South African company has introduced new routes, Minister Magala said.

“We are there in Portugal, but not only at a national level; there are more frequencies, etc. In fact, we did a small analysis last week. And we found that all the national routes are profitable, with the exception of one, which I think is Tete-Maputo that, in one way or direction, still has a small deficiency in terms of profit or income. The others are profitable,” the minister commented.

Mateus Magala says, however, that more time is needed for the results to be more visible.

“Well, a year has passed. We are certainly within our predictions that the issue is complex and needs different approaches. The first phase was really to try to stabilize. Therefore, to reduce all those complaints that there were. The plane was late, the plane didn’t leave, the plane made a u-turn, the price was unbearable. I think we managed to achieve that. That discussion no longer exists. But now it’s from there forward. What do we do? We have to increase the fleet, we have to have a new fleet, we have to improve our service, because that is our goal. And that certainly requires time, resources and knowledge,” he said.

Regarding the Maputo-Lisbon route, which has already seen flight cancellations and rescheduling, Magala says that patience was needed.

“But certainly, like any business, when it starts, it starts with some investment. Some call it a cost, but if we have a horizon in which we are confident that we will be able to recover that cost, I call that an investment. So, in this first phase, we are not yet in the positive area that we want, but I think that, within one to three years, we will be on the path to profitability, on that route, because of the restructuring and modernization of the services that we want to offer on the Maputo-Lisbon route,” he argued.

Mateus Magala was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the ‘Internet for All’ project on Friday.

Source: O País