Mozambique eyes more Ethiopian Airlines flights and new route

The Mozambican President wants to introduce two additional Ethiopian Airlines flights to the central city of Beira and create a new route to and from Nacala, in the north, with a view to attracting investors, following agreements signed on Tuesday. “For Maputo [south], we have daily flights; for Beira we have five flights [per week]. Now we will see if we can — we are in talks with Ethiopian Airlines to add two more — and we will then have daily flights throughout the week,” Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said, summarising his two-day visit to that African country, which began on Monday.

If implemented, the Ethiopian airline will increase the number of flights to the city of Beira, in central Mozambique, from five to seven, according to Daniel Chapo. The Mozambican Head of State also said that during a meeting with Ethiopian business leaders, in which he invited them to invest in Mozambique, he expressed the government’s willingness to open a new route to the city of Nacala, in Nampula province, in the northern region. “We also want to open [routes] to Nacala, which means that our businesspeople, if they wish to travel to Mozambique, to Maputo from Addis Ababa [Ethiopia’s capital], can do so at any time.

They can also fly to Beira at any time, and soon they will also be able to fly to Nacala at any time,” Daniel Chapo added, expressing hope that the agreements signed with Ethiopian Airlines will be implemented by July. The Mozambican President said on Tuesday that the solution to the challenges facing countries in southern Africa lies in Mozambique, inviting Ethiopian business leaders to invest in ongoing development projects.