Maputo, July 25, 2024 (Lusa) - The number of passengers passing through Mozambique's airports last year grew by 20%, to almost two million, with half of those in Maputo airport, according to a report by the Civil Aviation Authority of Mozambique (IACM) to which Lusa had access on Thursday.

According to the document, the overall number of passengers in air transport in Mozambique rose from 1,649,901 in 2022 to 1,974,523 last year, while aircraft movements grew by 7% in the same period, to 60,250.

Maputo International Airport alone saw passenger traffic grow by 22% in one year, to 1,051,868, followed by Nampula, with 199,366 (+13%), and Beira, with 198,269 (+21%).

Of the total movement in 2023, 1,272,263 passengers relate to domestic air transport, an increase of 11% compared to 2022, while regional connections carried 524,879 passengers (+46%) and intercontinental connections 149,507 passengers (+28%).

In the report, the IACM emphasises that of the nine operators that operated international air services in Mozambique in the pre-covid period, eight already have new operations underway, such as Mozambique's LAM, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, SA Airlink, TAP, Qatar, TAAG and Turkish Airlines.

According to IACM data, Mozambique has eight heliports, 16 airports, including three international ones, and more than 330 aerodromes.

At the end of last year, the country had 14 operators licensed to operate commercial air services, including two operating scheduled domestic and international services, and nine with non-scheduled domestic and regional services, and 88 registered aircraft.

PVJ/ARO // ARO.

Lusa