LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) will commence its 3x weekly service from Maputo to Lisbon, Portugal starting on June 2, rather than the end of March as originally planned.

The overnight flight from Mozambique will utilise an A330-200 wet-leased from ACMI/charter specialist Hi Fly Malta (3L, Malta International). The operator is presently preparing two 269-seat ex-Turkish Airlines A330-200s, TC-LNA (msn 874) and TC-LNB (msn 939), for introduction into its fleet. State-owned LAM is forced to used ACMI capacity for the route given it is currently banned from European Union airspace.

According to the ch-aviation schedules module, TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon) is the incumbent carrier on the route, flying the 4,523-nautical mile sector (8,376-kilometre) 3x weekly with its A330-900 fleet.

"We want to reach a point where LAM and TAP Air Portugal [with whom LAM has been codesharing on the route] share the market they have and offer a daily flight between the two points," LAM General Manager Joao Jorge told Noticias.