Zegabi

Xinhua  (Addis Ababa) —  On Monday Ethiopian Airlines will commence its flights to Madrid, Spain, which has become the 10th European destination of the airliner.

Ethiopian flights to Madrid is operated through Rome and has brought the number of the airline’s international destinations to 83 across five continents.

The flights, three times a week, will provide the best connectivity options between Spain and East and Southern Africa, said the Ethiopian.

Speaking during a ceremony held on the premises of the Ethiopian Airlines Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of the Ethiopian Airlines, said the new route to Madrid would create opportunities for further strengthening the investment, trade and tourism ties between Spain and 49 destinations in Africa.

“The continued expansion of our network in Europe will enable our customers to enjoy wider choice of connectivity options when travelling between Europe and Africa,” said the CEO.

“Spain is a major tourist originating and destination country. Our new route to Madrid will create opportunities for further strengthening the investment, trade and tourism ties between Spain and 49 destinations in Africa with convenient and seamless connection through our hub in Addis Ababa,” he added.

Passengers to and from Madrid will enjoy convenient connections to destinations in Ethiopia wide route network such as Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salam, Nairobi, Entebbe, Lusaka, Luanda and Johannesburg, according to the Ethiopian.

Ambassador of Spain to Ethiopia, Miguel Fernandez, noted during the ceremony today that the launch of the Ethiopian flight to Spain would play role in strengthening the people to people and bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Spain.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading airline group in Africa with seven strategic business units: Ethiopian International Passenger Service; Ethiopian Regional Service; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering and Ethiopian Ground Service.

In 2014, IATA (the International Air Transport Association) ranked Ethiopian as the largest airline in Africa in revenue and profit.