Mozambique: LAM wet-leases A319 from Ukraine

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Mozambique: LAM wet-leases A319 from Ukraine

10:14 CAT | 08 Oct 2025

Screengrab: Ministério dos Transportes e Logistica

According to the Ministry of Transport, LAM currently operates six aircraft, five of which are leased. The remaining one is the recently acquired Bombardier Q400 .

A wet lease agreement includes the Aircraft, the full Crew (flight deck and cabin), Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI).

LAM Mozambique Airlines has leased an Airbus A319 from Ukraine, with capacity for 144 passengers, to be operated by a Ukrainian crew under an agreement that also includes the aircraft’s maintenance and insurance, the Mozambican Ministry of Transport announced on Tuesday.

“Mozambique Airlines has just leased another aircraft from Ukraine to strengthen its air transport fleet,” reads a statement published on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.

According to the ministry, the national flag carrier currently operates six aircraft, five of which are leased. The remaining one is a recently acquired Bombardier Q400 — the first new aircraft added to its fleet in 18 years.

It should be recalled that LAM issued a tender in August 2025 for the short-term wet lease of five aircraft, aimed at improving operational efficiency and service quality across its domestic and regional routes.

A wet lease agreement includes the Aircraft, the full Crew (flight deck and cabin), Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI).

Corrigendum: Please note that the government’s announcement clarifies information published yesterday by Domingo and translated by Club of Mozambique, which reported that LAM had received the second of a total of six aircraft it plans to acquire this year, following the Q400 model previously purchased. The newly leased Airbus A319 is unrelated to LAM’s plans to add six of its own aircraft to its fleet.

On 23 September, Mozambique’s government acknowledged the difficulties involved in restructuring LAM. Still, it stressed that the aim was to ensure the company’s functionality and safety, with five aircraft expected to be acquired by December.

“We never said that the process of restructuring the company would be easy, we’re still going to have a lot of difficulties ahead of us,” said the Minister of Transport and Logistics, João Matlombe, during a three-day visit to Zambézia, central Mozambique, when questioned by journalists about consecutive breakdowns in an aircraft recently acquired by the company.

For several years, LAM has been facing operational problems related to a reduced fleet and a lack of investment, with a record of some non-fatal incidents associated by experts with poor aircraft maintenance. The company is currently undergoing a major restructuring process.

The Mozambican state-owned airline has practically stopped operating international flights this year, concentrating on domestic routes as part of a restructuring process that also led to the arrival in May of a new board of directors and the appointment of public companies HCB, CFM, and Emose as shareholders.

To minimise recurring problems with flight cancellations, it intends to purchase five Boeing 737-700 aircraft and, pending this process, has launched a tender to lease an additional five.

Source: Lusa/ CH Aviation / Domingo