Ethiopian Airlines Starts Flights to Durban, its 3rd Destination in South Africa

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and most profitable airline in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has started new services to Durban, the 3rd destination in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town on December 16, 2015 as per the following schedule.

Durban is the second largest metropolitan city and the second most important manufacturing hub in South Africa. It is also one of the main tourism destinations in Africa because of the city’s warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. Durban is an important gateway into South Africa; the new service will offer passengers more choice and flexibility and with no doubt, facilitate trade, investment, and tourism ties between Ethiopia and South Africa.

Ethiopian Group CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, said: "As a Pan-African airline working to bring Africa together and closer to the world, we are very pleased to spread our wings to our 3rd destination in South Africa. The new Durban service will give our customers more and convenient connectivity options when traveling within, to and from the continent. We will continue to expand our reach in our home market in Africa with a view to support to the continent’s socio-economic integration and development”



The Premier of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, Mr Senzo Mchunu, welcomed Ethiopian Airlines and remarked, “It is our contention that Ethiopian Airlines is charting a new course for Africa’s aviation industry as the leading carrier on the continent in terms of growth, passengers and profitability. By choosing to open this new route from Durban to Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines is tapping into previously unrealised traffic flows. As the government of KwaZulu-Natal, along with our partners in the public and private sector, we are continually working to grow King Shaka International Airports’ catchment area, with new feeder routes.”

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mr Michael Mabuyakhulu remarked  “We are extremely pleased as the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal and the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, in particular, that Ethiopian Airlines will fly directly into King Shaka International Airport. As the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal, we have always emphasised the fact that, with Africa emerging as one of economic frontiers, we need to locate our economic fortunes within the continent. It is because of this reason that we have worked tirelessly to improve air connectivity between our province and the African continent as part of our airlift strategy in order to improve our gateway status to the continent.”

Mr Gebremariam further added, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the KwaZulu-Natal Provinical Government, Dube TradePort, ACSA, Durban Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal and Trade and Investment KZN - all for their relentless support to make this new operation a reality.”

The Premier of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, Mr Senzo Mchunu, concluded by saying, “South Africa and Ethiopia share a common vision and a long standing history of promoting intra-African trade and development, the goodwill that exists between our two countries has also provided a firm basis for building stronger cooperation in various spheres, which include: political and economic, trade, investment, health, agriculture, education as well as capacity building and tourism development. This new route represents a significant step in facilitating prospective investments between our two nations. We wish to take this opportunity to invite the people of Ethiopia to take full advantage of this opportunity to come to Durban, to explore and discover what Durban has on offer as a premium tourist destination; we invite you to come and see, taste and feel the warmth of  its people and their rich cultural heritage.”

Ethiopian is a global Pan-African carrier currently serving 91 international destinations across 5 continents with over 200 daily flights using the latest technology aircraft such as the B777s and B787s Dreamliner with an average fleet age of five years.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa.  In its close to seven decades of operations, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to 91 international destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200 Freighter, Bombardier Q-400 double cabin with an average fleet age of five years. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centers: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service.  Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

For more information about this press release, please contact:
Manager Corporate Communications
Ethiopian Airlines
Tel: (251-1) 517-84-07/656/165/913/529
publicrelations@ethiopianairlines.com
www.ethiopianairlines.com
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