Currently,theCOVID-vid-19 pandemic is hugely affecting the airline industry. Many airlines are experiencing bankruptcy. Following this, the airlines are taking different measures to achieve quick recovery.
Ethiopian is among the leading sector service providers that have been struggling with COVID-19’s impact. People’s movement is almost curtailed as the virus massively affects the general socioeconomic activities.
Recently, the Airline announced successive measures to cope with the pandemic season. Among its measures are prioritizing the expansion of its cargo services worldwide. Moreover, different African and other countries have been awarding cargo services for Ethiopian following their respective airlines’ capacity limitations to cope with this challenging time on their income.
Ethiopian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Mesfin Tassew told The Ethiopian Herald that the Airline has about 120 aircrafts in total. Out of this, 12 are cargo service providers and the rest are passenger planes. Following the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the passenger planes have largely ceased their activities. However, the Airlines is doing its best to utilize its cargo planes. Ethiopian has approximately 127 international and 22 international destinations. Out of these, 90 destinations are closed temporarily due to the pandemic, and the number of flights has also been reduced. Thus, the Airlines are utilizing only 15 per cent of total capacity.
As the Airline has been providing uninterrupted services in the sector for over 70 years, it has gained international reputation and records consecutive successes. It also plays a leading role in Africa today. The secrets of its reputation and success are its visionary leaders who have been leading the organization at different times and the presence of competent and dedicated staff.
Properly plan implementation has also allowed it to grow year after year. In particular, the development of infrastructure, the availability of trained human resources, the implementation of modern aircraft, and the adoption of technology are the key factors for its success.
Ethiopian Airlines is effective because there is no government intervention in its activities and decision-making procedures, according to him.
The Boeing 737 Max plane crash was a tragic event in the history of Ethiopian Airlines. It killed the lives of passengers and crew on board. “It broke the heart of all of us. This disaster is likely to have an impact not only in Ethiopia but globally.”
As it has been reported, the problem is related to the design of the aircraft, and many airlines have lost confidence in the model of the aircraft and put it out of operation. Since then, the Ethiopian Airlines has been forced to stop its Boeing 737 Max models. “But somehow we continued without interrupting the rest of the flights. Flight has not been cancelled since the accident. The accident is not caused by Airlines crew rather it was caused by Boeing. That is why it put tangible pressure on the international airlines industry,” he stressed.
However, the Airlines didn’t experience a reduction in the number of passengers. When selecting an Airline, travellers can study the company’s flight and safety history carefully. That is why the number of customers has not decreased because of the alleged Boeing 737 Max aircraft,” he indicated.
Currently, the airline has four Boeing 737 Max aircraft on the ground. These model planes are not flying in the world today. The Boeing Company has been conducting various studies to solve their technical problems. It’s true, Ethiopian Airlines, along with the aircraft carrier Boeing Company, has pledged to build some memorial and community service facilities in the area where the accident occurred. The construction of the statue will begin later this month. An infrastructural building like a school and health facilities are also part of the memorial to serve the local community.
He said that some individuals criticize the fact that the airline should have immediately stopped flight into China when the COVID-19 took place in China fearing the disease would enter Ethiopia. Indicating that Airliners are regulated by the International Aviation Association principles, Ethiopian operates according to the guidelines issued by the Association. At that time, neither the World Health Organization nor the Aviation Association recommended that stopping flights to China would be effective in preventing the disease. Ethiopian Airlines has been working on this. Later, when the disease spread, airlines in Europe, the US, and some African countries stopped flying to China. However, although the European airline cancelled flights to China, the disease was initially introduced and spread; the most damaging thing is happening in Europe and the United States. At the African level, it is the other African countries that stopped flight before being severely affected by the virus than Ethiopia. This shows that stopping flights might not be the right decision.
As to Mesfin, the economic pressure the Ethiopian airline suffers from due to the pandemic would have been worse if it stopped flight immediately. Thus, the comments and criticisms that were made at the time were not based on evidence. “It is important to remember that the first person identified in Ethiopia was a Japanese citizen who came from West Africa. So the disease is not imported from China by Ethiopian. This shows that the decision was appropriate.”
After the occurrence of Covid-19, the Ethiopian has taken several precautions wherever it flies so that the virus does not expand in the country.
“We have raised awareness among the company’s staff to take precautionary measures. Flight crews were also equipped to use all protective equipment they could use to protect themselves.”
The overall economic impact of COVID-19 forces the airline to stop its daily flights to its worldwide destinations. As a result, we have ceased over 90 per cent of our passenger services in the last three months.”
Currently, regular passenger service has almost been terminated. The airline changed most of its passengers’ planes into cargo services.
This budget year, the airline plans to earn five billion dollars in revenue. But, the revenue declined significantly following the outbreak of the virus. The airline is massively working on a cargo service to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic impact on its income. Its current income is limited to cargo services.
Some 85 per cent of the airline’s annual revenue comes from passenger service; “imagine how much it would hurt to stop this service”, Mesfin said.
Currently, the airline is doing two-way transport to African countries, China, Europe, North, and South America. First, Ethiopian Airlines is assisting heavily in the fight against COVID-19 and saving lives. It is playing a global role by delivering essential goods as quickly as possible. It has received a lot of praise and appreciation from the international community.
“Currently, there is a high demand for cargo services globally than the passengers’ service. As a result, we are using some of the passenger planes for cargo transport. We are keeping some of the passenger planes with seats and others without seats used for cargo services.”
Recently, the Jackma and the World Health Organization chose Ethiopian to distribute medical support to African countries. The cargo terminal in Addis Ababa can handle a million tons a year. It has also a capacity to promote its current cargo services to address the continent’s cargo services demand.
Ethiopian Airlines has about 17,000 employees, including the employees of airports across the country. Of these, 6,400 are currently in operation. Others have taken their paid annual leave to reduce congestion in the workplace and limit the COVID-19 impact. During this challenging time, the Airline focused on cost reduction like any other airline. But, reducing staff or taking a pay cut is not the first option of the Airlines. The staff is the biggest asset to airlines. The administration and staff are directed to pass this challenging time together, he underlined.
Currently, the initiative to partially privatize the Airlines is well underway. So far, the state continues to own 100 per cent of the share. Or, to some extent, it is possible to have partnerships with other investors. “I don’t think it will make much of a difference. There is a need for strong management and continuous mobilization to sustain the company’s success, he noted.
The Ethiopian Herald May 28, 2020
BY TEWODROS KASSA
