Airlink Restarts Nampula Flights with Government Guarantees

Airlink (South Africa) (4Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) will resume flights to Nampula on January 9, 2025, following reassurances from South African and Mozambican authorities that its aircraft will not face seizure upon arrival.

“While the risk of an attempt to impound our aircraft persists due to the unresolved Nampula Provincial Court order, we have received assurances that local officials will not enforce it,” said Airlink CEO Rodger Foster. He maintained that the court order and associated damages claim against the airline are “flawed and without merit.”

The airline had suspended its Nampula operations on January 7 after Mozambican court officials unsuccessfully attempted to seize one of its Embraer E135s, ZS-TFL (msn 145368), at Nampula on December 28. This action stemmed from an interim court order linked to a damages claim by two passengers who were offloaded for unruly behavior on a flight from Johannesburg, along with eight family members who voluntarily disembarked. The applicants include members of the Gulamo family, owners of the RGS Group conglomerate in Mozambique.

The resumption of services follows diplomatic intervention from South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Department of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority, and Mozambique’s Ministry of Transport and Instituto de Aviação Civil de Moçambique (IACM).

Airlink, which accounts for 70% of scheduled flights between South Africa and Mozambique, serves multiple destinations, including Maputo, Beira, Tete, Vilanculos, Pemba, and Nampula. A court hearing on the case is scheduled for mid-January.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com