Air France to commence Paris-Maputo flights in December

London, 10 Sep (AIM) – Air France has announced that from 2 December it will operate flights from Paris to Maputo.

The flights had been planned to begin in October, but this was delayed due to the continuation of the coronavirus pandemic among other issues.

According to the Air France/KLM country manager for southern Africa, Wilson Tauro, “Air France is very pleased and proud to announce that we will add Maputo to our network this coming December”.

He added that “Mozambique has emerged as an important business destination due to its natural energy reserves. However tourism is also a key asset of the country. Due to our extensive network, we will connect Maputo to all major cities in Europe and beyond, including destinations in Portugal, Brazil and Cuba that are historically popular destinations from Mozambique”.

The flights will be an extension of the Paris to Johannesburg route, departing from the French capital on Sunday and Thursday nights at 23.35. These will arrive in Maputo the following afternoon at 14.20. The return flights will depart from Maputo at 16.30 and will arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris at 05.45 the next morning.

Other flights can be arranged with Air France through the airline’s partnerships with the national airline LAM and the South African based company Airlink.

The introduction of this new route between Maputo and Europe is a positive sign that the economy is expected to bounce back from the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tauro pointed out that “with the easing of travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers, a crucial and extremely positive step has been made in reviving both leisure and corporate markets. We are very confident of the success that adding Maputo to our network will bring”.

Currently, the only European company operating flights to Maputo is the Portuguese national airline TAP. Turkish Airlines had been running a service, but this has been suspended.
(AIM)