Aeroportos de Moçambique, the state-owned company that manages around 20 airports and airfields, almost doubled its losses in 2024, reaching 1.531 billion meticais (€20.8 million), according to its annual report.
According to the document, Aeroportos de Moçambique had already reported losses of 849.5 million meticais (€11.5 million) in 2023, meaning losses grew by 80.3% in a year. In 2022, the company posted losses of 820.5 million meticais (€11.2 million), and in 2021, a similarly negative net result of 215.6 million meticais (€2.9 million).
“The year 2024 was particularly challenging for the aviation sector. In the last quarter of 2024, the country was hit by a wave of violent protests that led to the destruction of public and private infrastructure,” the report notes, highlighting that this scenario “drastically affected the sector” due to “restrictions on the movement of people and goods within the country and the consequent cancellation of flights.”
Even so, the company notes in the report that air passenger traffic grew by 4.16% compared to 2023, reaching 2,055,435 passengers, and aircraft movements increased by 1.5%, to 61,182 flights. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, Mozambique had transported 2,296,370 passengers, with 70,602 aircraft movements.
The growth in 2024 is attributed by Aeroportos de Moçambique to the performance of the national airline LAM, which accounted for 64% of all passengers, and in that year surpassed both 2023 figures and the historical peak of 2019.
Among international carriers operating in Mozambique, Qatar Airways stood out in 2024, accounting for 5% of total passenger traffic, “despite the post-election protests in the fourth quarter of the year,” during which it “managed to maintain its regular flight operations” to the country.
Among regional airlines, Airlink from South Africa was the most notable, carrying 10% of all passengers in Mozambique in 2024, according to the company and reported by Lusa.
Source: Forbes África Lusófona