(3 minutes read)
· Ethiopian Airlines completed 75 years of its commercial flights operations. The company started its operations on April 8 1946, when the airline flew from Addis Ababa to Cairo
· The airline that time had only five C-47s aircrafts acquired from the US government, now has a formidable fleet strength of 127 aircraft, of various configurations and companies
· It has recalibrated close to 12 passenger aircraft to haul relief goods and medicines. The airline, determined to become one of the best airlines in the world, has to cross many milestones to reach that point
Ethiopian Airlines completed 75 years of its commercial flights operations. The company started its operations on April 8 1946, when the airline flew from Addis Ababa to Cairo. The airline that time had only five C-47s aircrafts acquired from the US government, now has a formidable fleet strength of 127 aircraft, of various configurations and companies.
The airline, billed as the largest airline in the continent, is reckoned as one of the professionally run carriers in the world, has been operating even during the pandemic days mainly as a freighter retrofitting some of the passenger aircrafts to carry out rescue operations and for the delivery of medicines and other relief works. It has recalibrated close to 12 passenger aircraft to haul relief goods and medicines. The airline, determined to become one of the best airlines in the world, has to cross many milestones to reach that point. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of commercial operations, a special event was held recently.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Ethiopian is Africa’s biggest airline by revenue and profit, The International Civil Aviation Association (ICAO) recently said that the African airlines were at risk of losing US$6 billion in revenue and 3 million jobs in 2020 as compared to the previous year. Some of the airlines in the continent are in deep distress. As reported by www.trendsnafrica.com, Namibia folded its airline in February. The flag carriers of South Africa and Kenya have requisitioned their respective governments for infusion of more resources to keep the airlines flying again.
Last December, the airline announced the launch of a cold chain air freight to transport temperature-sensitive medicines and for delivering shipments of coronavirus vaccines to various countries in Africa.
