Mozambique will soon have a trio of international airports, with the southern region served by the Maputo international Airport, the central region by Beira Airport and the northern region by Nacala Airport.

Nampula, Pemba and Vilankulos will no longer receive international traffic.

Nacala International Airport, opened in 2014, will be transformed in order to compete against airports in Johannesburg and Addis Ababa, in addition to those in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

Speaking at a seminar to publicise Nacala Airport during the Maputo International Fair in Marracuene, Emanuel Chaves, chairman/CEO at aeroportos de Mocambique, stressed he was not the only one to make a similar decision, citing the cases of South Africa and Ethiopia, which “saw the economic benefits of reducing the points of entry and international air outlets in their territories long ago.”

Ethiopia has a single point of entry and exit by air.