Ethiopian Airlines marked one year of operations of using passenger aircraft as freighters with this announcement:

On March 25 of last year, Ethiopian Airlines operated its first cargo only service on a passenger aircraft with its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The flight departed on March 25, 2020 from Addis Ababa to Kinshasa carrying more than 16 tons of much-needed PPE and other shipments inside the cabin and the belly of the aircraft.

Following the sharp decline in passenger number due to the pandemic, Ethiopian swiftly shifted focus to cargo operations and became among the very few pioneers to load cargo on passenger aircraft’s cabin. Immediately afterwards, Ethiopian demonstrated remarkable agility in its response to the increased cargo demand in the wake of the pandemic by reconfiguring 25 passenger aircraft into freighters using its own internal MRO capabilities and distributed the muchneeded Personal Protective Equipment and medical supplies across the globe. A year since its first “Preighter” operation, Ethiopian has operated 5,645 Cargo flights on the cabin of passenger aircraft and transported more than 121,750 tons of cargo across its vast global network. The flights added an immense value to the total of 33,182 flights and 735,869 tons of cargo transported during the period from March 25, 2020 to March 25,2021.

Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it has operated COVID-19 vaccine delivery flights from Mumbai to Addis Ababa and from Beijing to Brazzaville.

Ethiopian transported the first batch of coronavirus vaccines from Mumbai to Addis Ababa on March 6, 2021. The airline continued to play its prominent role in the vaccine distribution and transported the vaccines from Beijing to Brazzaville via Addis Ababa on March 10, 2021. 

Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, the cargo unit of Ethiopian Airlines Group, was instrumental in facilitating the flow of medical supplies including PPE across the globe in support of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by deploying its state-of-the-art cargo terminal, which is the largest in Africa with annual capacity of around one million tons and compartmentalized temperature controlled cold storage facilities.  

Equipped with different climate chambers ranging between -23OC to 25OC covering an area of 54,000m2, dedicated cool dollies, dedicated pharma team, lease/handling of Envirotainer & DoKaSCH-TS active containers, real-time temperature monitoring system and fully temperature controlled operation, the Pharma Wing is best suited for handling of pharmaceuticals and all types medical supplies. Additionally, leveraging the naturally air-conditioned weather of its home base Addis Ababa, Ethiopian guarantees safe and seamless cool chain logistics for handling temperature sensitive healthcare products.  

Ethiopian is a major cargo partners of WHO, WFP, donor governments and philanthropists in facilitating the flow of essential medical supplies owing to the massive cargo facility including Pharma Wing, large and dedicated freighters and well trained manpower. 

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft slide show:

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De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited has announced the delivery of another two Dash 8-400 aircraft to Ethiopian Airlines, including the airline’s milestone 30th Dash 8-400 aircraft. The 30th aircraft – MSN 4617 – is preparing to depart for Ethiopian’s hub in Addis Ababa, along with aircraft MSN 4615. Ethiopian first welcomed the Dash 8-400 aircraft into its fleet in March 2010.

The fleet of over 155 Dash 8 Series aircraft in Africa includes more than 90 Dash 8-400 aircraft. Worldwide, more than 155 airlines, leasing companies and other organizations have ordered almost 1,300 Dash 8 aircraft.

Ethiopian Airlines has made this announcement:

During the pandemic, Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline, was the go-to airline for essential travel, repatriation flights and airlift of medical and personal protective equipment (PPE). With the easing of travel restrictions across the globe, Ethiopian is pleased to announce that it’s happy to welcome back business and leisure travelers with programs aimed at safeguarding their health and safety.

The program reinforces Ethiopian pledge to protect the health and safety of its customers and staff. It includes the steps the airline is taking to maintain customer and staff wellbeing through-out the service chain beginning from the first interaction with customers during ticketing/reservation and up to arrival at destination.

Ato Tewolde G. Mariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian, noted that “Ethiopian is proud to be there when the world needed it most – repatriating citizens, re-uniting families, facilitating essential travel and transporting much needed medical and personal protective equipment (PPE) for health professionals and the general public under very difficult and challenging circumstances. We are proud to be an integral part of the fight against COVID-19. Now we want to play a leading role in the new-normal. To a very large extent, it’s about getting back the confidence of business and leisure travelers. With the protective measures we are taking in line with CDC, IATA, ICAO and WHO guidelines, customers and staff can rest assured that their safety and health are well looked after when flying with us”.

Customers are advised to check travel restrictions of destination countries prior to arriving at the airport for a flight. Facemasks will be mandatory for travel. Except children under the age 2, all customers must keep their masks on throughout their journey.

All customer-facing staff will wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). This includes ticket offices, airport and lounge staff, as well as cabin crew. Onboard service is redesigned to minimize contact while maintaining our African flavored Ethiopian hospitality. Items, such as magazines, menus and other reading materials, that were traditionally shared will no longer be available.

Summary of measures that we’re taking to assure your wellbeing are as follows:

Before Departure:

• Customers holding tickets purchased before August 31, 2020 and valid for travel until September 30, 2020 can rest assured that their tickets will be valid until 31 December 2021. Customers who have exchanged their tickets for vouchers can utilize the vouchers within one year. Our website and Global Contact Center (GCC) are optimized to handle such requests.
• Physical distancing will be practiced at all Ethiopian sales offices.
• Customers are kindly requested to satisfy destination entry requirements such as health certificates and fill health declaration forms if required.   Up to date destination entry requirements can be found on our website using the link https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/aa/travel-updates
• Customers feeling unwell are strongly encouraged not to travel and travel only when feeling well. Unwell customers will not be allowed to enter the airport and will be denied boarding a flight.
• All Ethiopian aircraft are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to departing from the hub, and at turnaround stations. 

  At the Airport:

• Enhanced health screenings including temperature checks will be conducted.
• To ensure adequate social distancing, markings are placed through-out the terminal building and hand sanitisers will be available for use.
• Passengers must check in their cabin baggage. They’re allowed to bring on board only essential items such as laptops, handbags, briefcases, and baby items.
• All checked-in bags will be sanitised before being loaded onto the aircraft.
• To reduce contact between customers, boarding will be done in an orderly manner by seat-rows starting from the back of the aircraft towards the front. At the Lounge:
• Physical distancing will be practiced in all Ethiopian owned and operated lounges.
• Hand sanitisers will be available for use
• To minimize contact, meal and drink will be self-service in the lounges. Cutlery is sterilized before each use. Onboard:
• In business class complimentary hygiene kits that include masks, antibacterial wipes, and hand sanitizer will be provided.
• In economy masks, hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes will be available on demand.
•  “Comfort items” such as pillows, blankets, headphones, and toys are hygienically sealed.
• Onboard Lavatories will be sanitized frequently during flight.
• We have changed our meal service to minimize contact. But the African flavored Ethiopian hospitality you’re accustomed to will continue to be evident throughout. Cutlery is sterilized before each use.
• Menu’s, Magazines and newspapers will not be available onboard.
• Crew are trained to handle flight operations in a COVID-19 travel world. 

  As countries continue to open their borders and relax travel restrictions, Ethiopian is ready to increase frequencies to accommodate the demand by focusing on the wellbeing of customers and staff. Ethiopian is happy to welcome back business and leisure travellers.

  It’s good to be back!

Route Map:

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Ethiopian Airlines has made yet another history on March 7, 2020 operating an all-women functioned flight to Washington DC. Africa’s Largest Aviation Group and SKYTRAX Certified Four Star Global Airline has scored the all-female flight crew feat highlighting the airline’s progress in empowering African women, and the contribution of women to the socio-economic development of the continent.

Regarding the all-women functioned flight, Ethiopian Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “Ethiopian firmly believes that such remarkable flights inspire African women and young girls to dream big and realize their dreams not only in aviation, but also in science, technology, engineering, art and other fields. While we celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women in Africa, we take a bold move towards further championing gender equality in Ethiopia and Africa at large.”

Ethiopian all-women flight crew flew the Boeing 777 from Addis Ababa to the US capital while other female professionals handled all the ground operations including flight dispatch, load control, ramp operation, on-board logistics, safety and security, catering as well as air traffic control.

As an equal opportunity employer, Ethiopian creates an enabling environment for women to become the next generation aviation experts.

The airline has seen a remarkable rise in the number of women in different leadership positions. Ethiopian has been operating all-female flights since 2015. The airline has so far flown to Bangkok, Kigali, Lagos, Buenos Aires and Oslo with all female crew.

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft photo gallery: