The Mozambican government has approved new rules governing the licensing of private air operators, introducing digitally secured licences equipped with anti-fraud mechanisms, new categories of aerial work, and enhanced reporting obligations to the civil aviation regulator. The measures are set out in a new Regulation on the Licensing of Private Air Operators, which has already entered into force.
The new regulation revokes the previous framework, which had been in place since 2011, and establishes a 90-day transition period running until the end of October. The legislation applies to individuals and legal entities, public or private, that operate transport services or unpaid aerial work for private purposes, with the stated objective of promoting safe and effective private air transport and aerial work.
One of the principal changes is the digitalisation of licences, which will now incorporate multiple security features, including unique coded numbering, barcodes or QR codes, watermarks, special anti-fraud paper, and holographic seals or encrypted digital signatures. Mozambique’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority will also be required to make publicly available electronic systems enabling verification of licence authenticity.
The regulation further establishes that private air operators will no longer be required to hold an Air Operator Certificate (AOC). The waiver of this certificate does not, however, eliminate safety requirements: operators remain obliged to comply with operational safety, aviation security, and airworthiness standards applicable to their activities.
Private aerial work activities are also now distributed across 15 specific categories, which may be listed on the respective licences. These include agricultural work and aerial fumigation, firefighting, aerial photography and filming, parachute dropping, aerial advertising, thermography, altimetric surveying, high-voltage line inspection, offshore operations, and mapping.
Under the new rules, operators face increased information obligations to the regulatory authority. On a monthly basis, they must report data on flight operations, including the names of passengers carried, routes operated, and number of flight hours logged. They must also retain passenger lists and cargo manifests, in physical and/or digital format, for a minimum of three years.
The new regime maintains the existing prohibition on the commercial exploitation of aircraft registered under a private licence. ‘The use of an aircraft registered under a private licence for any remunerated activity, direct or indirect, or its lease to third parties, is prohibited,’ the regulation states.
The regulation also introduces a new provision permitting private operators to use foreign-registered aircraft for a maximum period of one year while the relevant registration process in Mozambique is under way. To do so, operators must present the applicable customs documentation and meet the relevant technical requirements. The legislation additionally defines conditions for the use of aircraft under financial leasing arrangements, dry lease contracts, and other contractual models, including the temporary substitution of aircraft due to mechanical failure, accident, or maintenance requirements.
Finally, the regulation introduces stricter fitness criteria for operators and managers, excluding individuals or entities convicted of aeronautical offences, crimes against the national economy, corruption of regulatory officials, or obstruction of supervisory activities. Offences under the new framework include operating without a licence, using undeclared pilots, operating aircraft with expired documentation, and failing to meet information-reporting obligations to the regulator — all punishable by fines ranging from 80 to 100 minimum wages.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/03/negocios/aviacao/governo-aprova-novas-regras-para-licenciamento-digital-de-operadores-aereos-particulares/
