Addis to Cape Town inaugural flight welcomed

Trade and industry has welcomed Ethiopian Airlines’ decision to fly to Cape Town International Airport – following its inaugural flight from Addis Ababa to the mother city on Tuesday night.

Tim Harris, CEO of the Western Cape trade and investment promotion agency, Wesgro, was cited by the Business Day as saying that the Cape Town city region had the potential to become an economic hub for Africa, but this required building much better connectivity with the rest of the continent.

"The introduction of a new route like this new one to Ethiopia will open up many trade and investment opportunities for Western Cape companies in one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa," he said.

The Ethiopia-Cape Town schedule will operate six times a week. With this new route, the airline will also operate a direct flight to Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, three times a week.