Eritrean authorities have suspended all flights by Ethiopian Airlines to the East African nation effective Sept. 30, the airline said on Wednesday.Flights from Ethiopia to Eritrea had resumed in 2018 after two decades, following a peace deal between the two neighbours that earned Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed a Nobel peace prize a year later.“Ethiopian Airlines has received a notice from the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority through a letter… indicating the suspension of all Ethiopian Airlines flights to Eritrea, effective September 30, 2024,” the airline said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page.“The specific reasons for this suspension have not been disclosed to us,” it said.Eritrea Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Hanna Atnafu, a spokesperson for the airline, told Reuters the flight suspension came as a surprise.“What is shocking and saddening to our airlines was just 15 days ago, on July 8, there was a letter sent to (us) requesting, to increase our weekly flight frequency from 10 flights to 15,” Hanna said.State-owned Ethiopian Airlines is ranked the largest in Africa by revenue and profit by the global industry body International Air Transport Association.
Eritrea Suspends Ethiopian Airlines Flights, Airline Says
July 25th, 2024
July 25th, 2024
The Eritrean government has suspended Ethiopian Airlines from operating in the country from Sept. 30.
The East African nation, which neighbors Ethiopia, is accusing Africa’s biggest airline of “malicious trading practices” including luggage theft, price hikes, and regular flight delays.
Ethiopian Airlines only resumed operations in Eritrea in 2018 after a peace agreement between the two countries ended a two-decade rift. The airline had previously complained about its inability to repatriate its funds from Eritrea due to the country’s foreign exchange restrictions.
The suspension could pose a significant challenge for ordinary Eritreans because their national carrier, Eritrean Airlines, has limited operations. International airlines rarely serve the insular country due to low profitability and difficulties in repatriating earnings. If the tensions escalate and Ethiopia closes its airspace to Eritrean flights, the consequences could be severe for citizens.
Ethiopian Airlines said it is seeking clarification from Eritrean authorities after the suspension. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ethiopian Airlines said it was notified of the suspension by Eritrea’s Civil Aviation Authority but had not been given specific reasons for the decision.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 25th, 2024 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Eritrea, Ethiopia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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