Mozambique airline reinstates direct flights from Jozi

Mozambique’s national carrier Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) airlines has reintroduced its local routes once again after a number of planes underwent fleet maintenance last year.

These local routes will make travelling between South Africa and parts of Mozambique a lot easier. Last year, planes had to be rerouted via the capital, Maputo, due to the shortage of craft, but now the direct Johannesburg-Tete route is operational, running on Sundays and Wednesdays.

It’s becoming easier to get to Moz and its beautiful island beaches and turquoise waters in general; as of last year, Mozambique became home to Africa’s longest suspension bridge, the Maputo-Catembe Bridge, which operates between the Mozambique-South Africa border near Kosi Bay in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Maputo.

Our neighbouring country is also home to the popular coastal town of Vilanculos, with its islands off the coast, and the Bazaruto Archipelago has six little islands which you can explore by dhow safari.

The 50-seater aircraft for flight TM335 will depart from the city of Tete (on the Zambezi river) at 11.05am, with an estimated time of arrival in Johannesburg of 13.25pm.

Flight TM3334 will depart from Joburg at 14:05pm and should arrive in Tete at 16.25pm.

‘Last year we operated with fewer aircraft as some were sent for C-checks,’ said LAM’s Head of Marketing, Adil Ginabay.

C-checks are routine maintenance inspections that are carried out on all commercial and civil aircraft after a particular period of use, usually after about two years. A-checks are the least invasive types of inspections and occur after a craft has flown 500 flying hours, while D-checks are the most invasive, expensive and time-consuming inspections, which are usually carried out around the six-year mark.

At present, LAM flies from Maputo and Johannesburg twice a day, and from Nampula and Beira to Jozi three times a week.

To explore more of Moz, you’ll be happy to know that more domestic flights have been added as well:

– Four flights Beira-Tete (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

– Two flights Tete-Pemba (Monday, Friday)

– Two flights Beira-Pemba (Monday, Friday)

– Two flights Beira-Quelimane (Tuesday, Thursday)

– Additional flight service added to the Beira-Nampula route (Tuesday)

The airline is reportedly working on reintroducing its direct flights from Johannesburg to Inhambane and Vilanculos, both popular destinations on the coast, and it appears that different aircraft are being sourced to service these routes.

Hopefully, LAM will have improved its services and punctuality when it comes to departure times along with its new flight routes; the low-cost national carrier is notorious for its lengthy delays. In January of 2017 the airline suspected it had collided with a drone while approaching the runway for landing, but executed a safe landing whereafter found to be ‘random structural failure’.

If you aren’t on a tight schedule, though, these new routes will bring you so much closer to some of the best holiday destinations in beautiful Moz.

Featured image supplied.

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