Fastjet’s first Mozambican domestic flight flew from Maputo to Beira, in Sofala province, on Friday. Until now Mozambican flagship airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) was the only one providing domestic flights within the country, which have been repeatedly postponed due to management issues.

Both the authorisation and air exploration certificates were issued to Johannesburg-based Solenta Aviation, founded in 2000. It owns 28.48% of Fastjet , a South African and British consortium.

Francisco Cabo added that there was no requirement for a tender to be launched for domestic flights provided that the company isrecognised by the Civil Aviation Authority, the spokesman added.