The government has agreed to pay compensation of 3 million dollars (equivalent to 189.6 million meticais) to euroAtlantic, following the termination of the contract with Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM).

According to the Minister of Transport and Communications, João Matlombe, the amount proposed, however, is well below the 21 million claimed by the Portuguese company last February, when it announced the suspension of the contract with the Mozambican company.

"It basically has to do with a contract with euroAtlantic, which provided services on the Maputo/Lisbon route, which the government assessed as part of the restructuring and decided to terminate. And when it was terminated, obviously the institution that had a contract with the state, with LAM in this case, asked for compensation of 21 million dollars," said the government official during a press conference at the new cargo terminal of the Maputo Logistics Corridor, in the Marracuene district.

Quoted by NewsThe government official said that a technical team from the government had analyzed the content of the treaty and concluded that the amount requested was exaggerated. However, the Executive continues to work on a better investigation.

"The amount we have on the table, by way of notice - a legal obligation in the event of contract termination - is around three million dollars. In the meantime, the teams are still working on clarifying the accounts," said the minister.

Among the aspects still to be clarified, he said, were invoices allegedly paid by LAM for services that had not actually been provided.

The rupture between the parties concerns the operation of the Maputo/Lisbon route, which is operated by euroAtlantic aircraft, but which was suspended on February 19. The day before, LAM had announced the suspension of the route, citing losses of more than 21 million dollars accumulated since the start of the operation in 2023.

It should be remembered that the flight between the capitals of Mozambique and Portugal was resumed on November 20, 2023, as part of the company's revitalization plan, following the entry of the South African company Fly Modern Ark (FMA) into its management in April 2023.

(Photo DR)