Africa’s share of the global aviation market is the smallest at around 3% - which is “concerning” to the largest airline group in the continent.
“We are therefore setting the pace for record expansion to enable Africans to enjoy reliable and economical air connectivity,” said group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, highlighting his optimism around growth on the continent “beyond the current economic slowdown”.
“Especially in the oil export-dependent economies of Africa, we firmly believe that the continent will become the magnet for foreign direct investment, trade and tourism which are the engines of air travel growth,” GebreMariam said, adding that, in turn, efficient air connectivity also drove socio economic development.
He elaborated on Ethiopian Cargo’s Vision 2025 plan to boost connectivity from Africa – Addis Ababa – to the world, which includes expansion of the carrier’s freighter network to eighteen aircraft serving 37 international cargo destinations by 2025.
Furthermore, the new cargo terminal in the capital city – set to be Africa’s largest – is expected to be operational towards April this year.
“The new terminal, now 82% complete, will have an annual storage of 1.2 million tons and a capacity to handle eight B747-800 freighters at a time,” said GebreMariam. “Upon completion, our uplifting capability will be equivalent to the cargo terminals at Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi or Hong Kong,” he added.
The national carrier signed a EUR50 million loan agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) in 2014 to develop the terminal to support the country’s export of perishables including flowers, fruits, vegetables and meat.
The airline also announced earlier this month (January) that it would launch seven new destinations during the 2017 calendar year.
From February to June, Ethiopian will launch new services to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Conakry (Guinea), Oslo (Norway), Chengdu (China), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Singapore (Singapore).
With the addition of these stations, Ethiopian will have service from Addis Ababa to 98 different international cities located across the world.
