LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) has confirmed it has been re-admitted to the International Air Transport Association Clearing House (ICH), which clears funds being transacted between airlines and IATA-accredited travel agents.
In an August 22 circular seen by ch-aviation, IATA advised that LAM's suspension from ICH on July 31, 2023, had been lifted effective from "Period 04 of the August 2023 clearance" - meaning August 22 - after the airline met its obligations to the clearing house.
ICH is responsible for settling payments from IATA-accredited travel agents for airline tickets sold through interline and code-share agreements with other IATA member airlines, as well as payments to suppliers that are not airlines but are ICH members. ICH receives and processes payments from accredited travel agents and then distributes the funds to the appropriate airlines. It also releases receivables to IATA Currency Clearance Service (ICCS) on behalf of member airlines.
The airline confirmed that it had not been suspended from IATA's Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) and ICCS. BSP handles the sales, reporting, and remitting procedures of tickets sold by IATA-accredited travel agents through General Distributions Systems (GDS).
LAM is being restructured under a new oversight management committee led by Minister of Transport and Communications Mateus Magala and South African aviation management consultancy Fly Modern Ark, which claims to have reduced the airline's debt by USD71 million through tighter financial control and improved its new debt-to-equity ratio meaning the carrier is no longer considered technically insolvent.
The airline in August launched new inter-provincial routes between Beira and Nampula, Tete, Pemba, MZ and Quelimane. On August 6, it reinstated a thrice-weekly direct service between Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, South Africa, and beach holiday destinations Vilanculos and Beira.
