Maputo, Aug. 6, 2025 (Lusa) - The leasing of five aircraft by the state-owned flag carrier Mozambique Airlines (LAM) aims to ensure that “transport is not paralysed”, the government has said, guaranteeing that the previously announced plan to purchase Boeing aircraft will go ahead.
“While the aircraft purchase process is ongoing, transport services must not be paralysed. It seems quicker to lease one or two aircraft, allowing the normal purchase process to run its course,” said Mozambican government spokesman Inocêncio Impissa after the weekly Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday in Maputo.
Lusa reported on 31 July that the state-owned LAM had launched a tender for the short-term lease of five aircraft to meet operational improvement needs. The airline explained that the aircraft lease is intended to respond to growing demand for aviation services at national and regional level, driven by mega electricity, oil and gas projects and the tourism industry, as part of its investment plan.
The tender, it added, is open to “all interested national and foreign companies” and will run until 22 August, through a bidding process “for the short-term lease of up to five aircraft” on a wet lease basis, i.e. with the aircraft fully operational, including crew, maintenance and insurance.
on Tuesday, when questioned by journalists, the government spokesman assured that, despite the tender to lease aircraft, the plan to purchase aircraft remains in place: "What we can guarantee is that yes. The aircraft acquisition process is still ongoing and what we know is that the acquisition plan is continuing while LAM itself is being reformed, but at the same time the transport service is being provided by temporary aircraft, in this case leased for this purpose".
LAM has been facing operational problems for several years related to a reduced fleet and lack of investment, with some non-fatal incidents reported, which experts attribute to poor aircraft maintenance. It is now undergoing a profound restructuring process.
On 22 June, the President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, warned that the restructuring underway at LAM will continue in several other public sector companies that are not generating revenue for the state.
“What is planned is that we really need, and this process is underway, to make the acquisitions [aircraft] for LAM and really start to build a robust company that can generate profits and dividends (...). Now, I would like to make it clear that this is not a job that will end with LAM,” said the Mozambican head of state.
The Mozambican State Participation Management Institute (Igepe) announced on 13 May the removal of LAM's management and the appointment of a management committee chaired by Dane Kondic.
The decision was taken at an extraordinary general meeting of LAM, as part of the "revitalisation process" of the state-owned airline. The appointment of a non-executive board of directors was also approved, composed of representatives of the three state-owned companies that became shareholders of LAM this year: Hidroelétrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mozambique (CFM) and Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (Emose).
The consulting firm Knighthood Global, also hired by the shareholders to advise on the restructuring, said in May that it had three months to “stabilise and reposition” LAM, explaining that it had been “appointed by the Government of Mozambique to help revitalise” the company and “the country’s aviation sector in general.” In June, it launched a tender to lease up to five Boeing 737-700 aircraft for the Mozambican airline, but no outcome is known at this time.
PME/AYLS // AYLS
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