The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, revealed this Wednesday in parliament that renowned and well-structured companies from Europe and the Middle East have refused to accept leading a recovery plan for Mozambique Airlines (LAM).

"We contacted several airlines with worldwide reputations, and none of them were interested in taking over or partnering with LAM at the moment," he said.

Responding to questions from MPs, Magala said that LAM's financial situation continues to deteriorate and that it is operating above its budgetary capacity, i.e. in the form of debt.

"More than ninety percent of the business is financed through debt, which is double the general average. Unstructured debt will keep the company losing more and more every year," warned Mateus Magala.

For him, the immediate challenge for LAM is to stabilize it in order to avoid progressive losses. "This action will give us more time to review all the issues raised in the evaluation and determine LAM's future with greater certainty."

In 2022, LAM reported losses of 74.6 million dollars, plus nine million dollars in deferred taxes. Since 2019, the company has struggled to maintain the pension benefits of its staff.

LAM turned to South African company Fly Modern Ark to take the lead in the restructuring and will present its first monthly report later this month. (News, RM, STV)