The Mozambican Civil Aviation Authority (IACM) reported that air transport carried a total of 1.8 million passengers in 2025, representing a 9.3% decrease compared to the 2.05 million passengers recorded in 2024.
According to data from a report cited by Lusa, the decline was influenced by flight suspensions and cancellations, as well as the sector’s sensitivity to external and political factors, “referring to the protests that followed the October 2024 elections, which resulted in more than 400 deaths and the destruction and looting of businesses and public institutions in the following months.”
The document adds that 2025 was marked by a 6.9% decrease compared to the same period in 2024 in terms of overall activity in the sector. “This performance is linked to the operational constraints faced by the airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), including the Maputo–Lisbon, Maputo–Harare, and Maputo–Lusaka routes, due to the unavailability of its aircraft fleet,” it states.
According to the agency, aircraft movements in the country fell by 10.9% to 54,495, compared to 61,182 in 2024, adding that “cargo handling totaled 7,800 tons, a decrease of 28.4% compared to the previous year, which recorded 10,900 tons.”
This decline is largely attributed to the introduction of the safety fee, which has made cargo handling more costly, thereby discouraging operations in this sector; it is noted that “measures and efforts are being implemented to mitigate this impact and reverse the downward trend.”
At the end of 2025, there were 88 aircraft registered in Mozambique, operated by 14 commercial operators, serving a total of 12 airports, 21 private airfields, and 256 public airfields.
