Ethiopian Airlines will launch operations at Nacala, in Nampula province, on 27 October, offering three weekly flights with a non-stop connection to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. President Daniel Chapo confirmed the date on Tuesday (20) during the opening of the first Conference on Value Addition Based on Available Mineral and Energy Resources.
According to the schedule released by the airline, flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The service will follow the routing Addis Ababa–Blantyre–Nacala–Addis Ababa, meaning that flights departing from the Ethiopian capital will make a stopover in Malawi, while the return leg from Nacala to Addis Ababa will be non-stop. Nacala will become Ethiopian Airlines’ third destination in Mozambique, after Maputo and Beira.
In his address, Chapo linked the new connection to efforts to develop the region and expand access to international markets.
“We are working to transform this Mozambique with concrete actions that will transform Nacala, transform Nampula, transform our entire country,” the head of state said, as quoted by Lusa.
From Addis Ababa, passengers will be able to connect to the airline’s international network. The President highlighted that the new route will allow travellers to depart from Nacala without first having to travel to Maputo or Johannesburg.
“From Tuesday, three times a week, anyone who wants to travel the world can leave from Nacala. There is no need to go to Maputo, no need to go to Johannesburg — from Nacala there is a direct flight to Addis Ababa and from there to Dubai, Portugal, India, China, anywhere in the world,” he declared.
Chapo described air connectivity as essential to unlocking business opportunities and reinforcing Nacala’s position as a centre of economic convergence.
“And this flight, from Tuesday, is the result of our travels to Ethiopia, and we will continue to go and continue to travel to bring more benefits to the Mozambican people,” he said, associating the route launch with the government’s diplomatic activity.
The service stems from agreements reached during Chapo’s visit to Ethiopia in April, as part of efforts to strengthen economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries.
On that occasion, negotiations with Ethiopian Airlines were announced to create the Nacala route and to increase the number of weekly flights to Beira from five to seven. The expanded connections were presented as a means of facilitating the mobility of business people and investors and boosting tourism, trade, logistics, energy, and infrastructure.
In June, the government had identified July as the expected launch date for the Nacala service. The start of operations is now set for 27 October, a date that Ethiopian Airlines had already announced in a statement issued in September.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=554070
