The LAM airline plans to resume the Maputo-Lisbon route from November 20. The airline had stopped operating the route 11 years ago and had already negotiated the lease of a Boeing 737.
The Mozambican LAM plans to resume flights from Maputo to Lisbon on November 20, announced this Thursday the administrator of the South African company to which the Government of Mozambique entrusted the management of the flag company since April.
“We plan to resume this route on November 20. It is vital and will change the face of the company,” said the executive director of the South African Fly Modern Ark (FMA), Theunis Crous, this Thursday in a meeting with journalists in Maputo.
LAM had previously assumed that it is committed to obtaining the necessary authorizations use the Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon and manage flight schedules slotwhere to stopped flying since 2012having later lost these licenses.
Theunis Crous added that the company has also negotiated the Boeing 737 freighter rental, exclusively to manage cargo transportation within the country and abroad, specifically in South Africa, and hopes to put a second one into service six months later. “It is an opportunity that can make the company profitable. Freight transportation is a very profitable business,” he insisted.
Theunis Crous also mentioned that the FMA has already mobilized 15 million dollars (14 million euros) of financing for the current LAM operation, which is being expanded, with new routes and planes, which translates into an increase in passengers, currently 57 thousand, compared to the previous average of 46 thousand per month.
In this context, the manager stated that he hopes to reach an agreement with the Government of Mozambique for a “better” management contract in the future, taking into account the initial agreed conditions, which also imply the need to reduce costs and increase income. .
The FMA took over management of the state airline in April and recognized that LAM had a debt estimated at about 300 million dollars (277.7 million euros), according to data provided at the time.
The ongoing strategy to revitalize the company comes after years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet Is lack of investmentswith records of some incidentsnon-fatal, associated by experts with inefficient aircraft maintenance.
Source: Observadora
