Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) has been notified by the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority that all of its flights to that country will be suspended effective September 30, 2024.

The airline said no specific reasons were given for the decision communicated in a letter dated July 21. "Ethiopian Airlines is currently seeking clarification from the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority and is committed to resolving any issues amicably and promptly," the carrier said in a notice to passengers.

For its part, the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority - in a letter to passengers seen by ch-aviation - gave as reasons what it termed "consistent and persistent malicious trading practices pursued by Ethiopian Airlines in general." It also alleged luggage theft, pilferage, damage, prolonged delays without compensation, unjustified price hikes, and other irregularities. It claimed repeated calls to Ethiopian Airlines to rectify these issues had been unsuccessful.

ch-aviation has reached out to Ethiopian Airlines for comment.

Ethiopian Airlines currently serves the route between Addis Ababa International and the Eritrean capital, Asmara, twice daily on weekdays and thrice daily on weekends, with B737 and B787 equipment, according to the ch-aviation schedules module. It provides vital connectivity to Eritrea, having a 33.6% market share by scheduled weekly capacity out of Asmara (on par with flydubai). Asmara is also served by EgyptAir, flynas, Turkish Airlines, and Tarco Aviation, which collectively have around one-third of the market by scheduled weekly seating capacity.

So far, the ban has not been extended to include the use of Eritrean airspace which, if so done, would severely handicap Ethiopian Airlines given the current closure of Sudanese airspace to commercial traffic. In the event the Asmara FIR is closed to Ethiopian-registered aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines' west, north, and east-bound traffic would have to use Djibouti airspace. Ties between Ethiopia and Djibouti have been equally fraught after the former French colony spurned Addis Ababa's efforts to gain access to the Red Sea as well as its subsequent MOU with neighbouring Somaliland.

Eritrean Airlines (B8, Asmara), the flag carrier of the autarkic state, has been inactive since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Until March 2020, it wet-leased a single B737-400 from Ukraine's YanAir. It operated an in-house B767-300ER between 2003 and 2005, and a B767-200(ER) between 2004-2013, but otherwise relied on third-party capacity for its limited operations.

Ethiopia and Eritrea have historically had an adversarial relationship. The latter gained independence in 1991, after a 30-year war with Ethiopia. Despite a 2018 peace agreement - which won Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed a Nobel Peace Prize and allowed for the launch of direct flights between the two countries - tensions have been steadily rising in recent years.