Mozambique Enacts New Licensing Rules for Private Air Operators, Replacing 2011 Regime
Why It MattersThe overhaul tightens oversight of private and aerial-work operations across Mozambique, adding digital licensing, monthly reporting duties and stricter integrity checks for operators.
Mozambique has approved a new Regulation on the Licensing of Private Air Operators, which has come into force and replaces the framework that had been in place since 2011. The regulation is intended to promote safe and efficient private air transport and aerial work.
Among the key changes is the digitalisation of private air operator licences, which will carry anti-fraud features such as a unique coded number, barcode or QR code, watermarks, special anti-fraud paper, and a holographic seal or encrypted digital signature. The Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority of Mozambique (IACM) must provide publicly accessible electronic systems for verifying licence authenticity. Private operators will no longer need an Air Operator Certificate, though they must still meet operational safety, security, and airworthiness standards, and aerial work is reorganised into 15 categories covering activities such as agricultural spraying, firefighting, aerial photography, parachute dropping, and power line inspection.
Operators must now submit monthly reports covering passenger names, routes operated, and hours flown, and retain passenger lists and cargo manifests for at least three years. The existing ban on commercial use of privately licensed aircraft remains, though foreign-registered aircraft may be used for up to one year during Mozambican registration. New integrity rules exclude individuals convicted of aviation offences, economic crimes, corruption, or obstruction of inspections, and violations such as operating without a licence or using undeclared pilots carry fines of 80 to 100 minimum wages. A 90-day transition period applies, running until the end of October.
