Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights to Tigray capital

Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights to Tigray capital

Flights between Addis Ababa and the Tigrayan capital Mekele will resume on Wednesday
Flights between Addis Ababa and the Tigrayan capital Mekele will resume on Wednesday. Photo: Arsene MPIANA / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

Ethiopia's national carrier Ethiopian Airlines said it would resume commercial flights to the war-torn region of Tigray on Wednesday after a shutdown lasting 18 months.

The announcement comes a day after an Ethiopian delegation made the first high-level government visit to the rebel-held region since the signing of a peace deal last month.

The airline, the biggest carrier in Africa, said on Tuesday that it would operate daily flights from the national capital Addis Ababa to the Tigrayan capital of Mekele.

The schedule will increase in frequency depending on demand, it said in a statement.

"We are truly pleased with the resumption," Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said.

"These flights will enable families to reunite, facilitate the restoration of commercial activities, stimulate tourist flow and bring many more opportunities which will serve the society."

Read also

Inquiry into 2019 Ethiopian Air crash confirms software failure

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Aid has started trickling back into Tigray since the peace deal was signed on November 2, going some way to alleviating chronic shortages of food, fuel, cash and drugs.

But the region of six million is still largely without electricity and phone lines, while internet and banking services have only partly been restored.

Mekele was hooked up to the national electricity grid on December 6, and the country's biggest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, announced on December 19 that financial operations had resumed in some towns.

The war began in November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent in troops after accusing the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the region's ruling party, of attacking army bases.

Ethiopia's Tigray region
Ethiopia's Tigray region. Photo: Aude GENET / AFP
Source: AFP

Estimates of fatalities vary widely, with the United States saying that as many as half a million people have died. More than two million people have been displaced and hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.

Read also

S.Africa's Eskom warns of long electricity crisis

Access to northern Ethiopia is severely restricted and Tigray has been under a communications blackout for more than a year, making it impossible for journalists to independently verify the situation on the ground.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.