The Ethiopian airline recently received a life time achievement award from the United States Government for its more than 7 decades service all over the world. Beginning in a good faith Ethiopian airlines turns 78 years of successful journey. Ethiopian started its flight from Addis to Cairo through Asmara and continued to introduce modern age technology and system. As a leading innovator, the airline was predecessor usurping new aviation technology.
Founded on December 21, 1945, and commenced operations on April 8, 1946, initially with former military Douglas C -47 transports, the Airlines over the years, it has grown to become Africa’s largest airline. Currently, the Airline has a fleet of more than 146 modern aircrafts with an average fleet age of less than seven years. It has also more than 100 ultramodern air crafts on order.
In its formative years, except few countries, the Ethiopian played a dominant role in the provision of air transport services in Africa. In fact, in the 1940s and 50s, most of African countries were under the colonial rule and were dependent on the Ethiopian Airlines. While the decolonization process took place, the Ethiopian played pivotal role in providing transport service to the liberation armies’ leaders to exert diplomatic efforts through lobbying their supporters.
Nelson Mandela, the ex leader of the African National Congress (ANC) which was then the liberation movement in 1960 came from Zambia to Addis Ababa by the Ethiopian airline and after he completed months’ long military training he went back to Zambia by the same airline. Later the airline involved in providing passenger services to the delegates who came from various countries to participate in the foundation of the Organization of African Union (OAU) in Addis Ababa in 1955. During the following years of the establishment of OAU, the Ethiopian Airlines has served the African countries’ delegates who came to Addis Ababa to attend the organization’s annual and extraordinary meetings by providing air transport services from and to Addis Ababa for more than five decades.
In 1975, after the Portugal colonial forces were defeated by Angolan two liberation armies, UNITA and MPLA, the Ethiopian Airlines brought the two organizations’ leaders Jonas Savimbi and Augutino Nato from Zambia to Addis Ababa to facilitate dialogue between the two rival political leaders to resolve their differences and establish new government.
The airline with its various training departments has been providing trainings to students those came from various countries to ground technicians, pilots, aeronautic engineers and management.
Recently, Ethiopian Airlines, the leading aviation group in Africa and a rapidly expanding global airline brand, has been distinguished with the US President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the airline confirmed in an official statement. This accolade recognizes the Airline’s outstanding contributions and dedicated service to communities in the United States.
The award, signed by the US President Joseph R. Biden, was presented to Ethiopian Airlines during the 8th Annual Dinner, hosted by the Black IAM organization at the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel. Ethiopian Airlines continues to set industry standards for excellence, reinforcing its commitment to connecting cultures and fostering international collaboration.
“Our commitment to excellence and the spirit of unity has been the driving force behind our services for almost eight decades. This accolade is not only a recognition of our past efforts but also a bright beacon for the future, guiding us towards even greater heights in service and connectivity,” Mesfin Tasew, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines said.
“The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our employees, partners, and stakeholders”. The CEO pointed out that Ethiopian will continue to innovate and expand its customer experience, ensuring that passengers enjoy unparalleled travel experiences. The award recognizes the Airline’s outstanding contributions and dedicated service to communities in the United States.
As Ethiopian celebrates this remarkable achievement, it reaffirms its pledge to enhance its services and strengthen its ties with the US community, he said. The Airline has also been actively involved in community outreach programs, including supporting educational initiatives, sports, health care projects, and cultural exchanges. To expand its service provision the Ethiopian Airline received 34 square kilometer of land recently in the place known as “Abusera” located near Bishoftu town in the Oromia region and allocated 17 billion Birr for compensation to farmers who will be relocated.
According to the Ethiopian Airline Group’s CEO, the group obtained 740 hectare of land from the regional government to construct residential houses and other facilities to the farmers. Before the relocation of 2500 Farmers residing in the Abusera area, the residential houses will be constructed, and farmlands also will be availed.
To construct the residential houses and infrastructures restricted tender was announced for local contractors to compete and “Ktoel” company won the tender. As to Mesfin, until December 2024, the construction of the residential houses and other infrastructures will be completed and handed over to the farmers. Right after the dislocation of the farmers, the construction of the airport will begin.
The Ethiopian Airline group also announced tender for preparing design of the new airport and city which is going to be constructed in the place known as “Abusera” and the United Arab Emirates based company (DAR) won the tender. To select the designing company it invited internationally known 46 companies to participate in the tender and later 16 companies expressed their interest to participate and finally “DAR” company won the tender.
The construction of the project has two phases and the first phase will be accomplished in the coming five years. The new airport city has one big terminal and can have the capacity to accommodate 270 airplanes at a time. It also has four runways for takeoff and landing and the new airport also will be connected by express rail way route with the Bole International Airport. In the first phase construction two plane terminals will be finalized and start operation in 2029 and provides services to 60 million passengers annually.
When the construction of the huge airport city is completed it is estimated the cost of the construction would be six billion Dollars. Living its motto of ‘The New Spirit of Africa’ Ethiopian has created Africa-wide and transcontinental air connectivity networks linking its main hub, Addis Ababa to the rest of the world.
The Airline flies to 136 international passenger and cargo destinations at the moment, including 63 African cities, with daily and multiple flights with a minimum layover in Addis. As a veteran carrier serving a vast intra-African network, Ethiopian flies to more destinations in the continent than any other airline.
The Airline has been a member of the International Air Transport Association since 1959 and of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) since 1968. In December 2011, it took a giant leap forward in its successful journey by joining Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline network. Over the years, the multi-award-winning Airline has received countless coveted accolades and recognitions for its excellence including Skytrax’s Four-Star Airline Certification, Best Airline in Africa title for several years in a row, and Overall Excellence for Outstanding Crisis Leadership Award to mention but a few.
Ethiopian Airlines is also among the high revenue earning companies in Ethiopia thereby contributing remarkable amount for the nation’s economic advancement. It has announced a strong performance for the 2023/2024 fiscal year, raking in USD 7.02 billion in revenue. This represents a 14% surge compared to the previous year.
Building on its continuous success, Ethiopian has achieved an average growth rate of 25% in the past decade. Having met its 15-year strategic plan, Vision 2025, ahead of time, Ethiopian has charted out a more ambitious strategic roadmap called Vision 2035 to further bolster its continuous growth.
BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 22 AUGUST 2024
