Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) Chief Executive Officer Tewolde Gebremariam says the carrier could resume scheduled passenger flights to neighbouring Eritrea as early as September.
Since coming to power in April, newly installed prime minister Abiy Ahmed has sought to mend strained ties with several of Ethiopia's neighbours, chief among them Somalia and its former province, Eritrea.
In June, Abiy said Ethiopia would fully implement the 2000 Algiers Agreement, a peace agreement between the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia signed on December 12, 2000, in Algiers, Algeria which formally ended the last Eritrean-Ethiopian War of 1998-2000. Despite signing the accord, Ethiopia has refused to cede the northern frontier town of Badme to Eritrea as required under the terms of the agreement.
On the back of Abiy's overtures to Asmara, Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki dispatched a delegation to Addis Ababa this week to engage with their Ethiopian counterparts following which, Abiy told Reuters: “Artists, prepare yourselves since we will celebrate the (Ethiopian) New Year (on September 11) in both Asmara and Addis Ababa. For Ethiopians who have longed for heading to Massawa (in Eritrea) for a stroll, I call on you to be ready as Ethiopian Airlines will start services there soon.”
Echoing the Prime Minister's remarks, Gebremariam later commented to Bloomberg that flights to Eritrea would resume "as soon as the formalities are completed," possibly within two months.
During its union with Eritrea, Ethiopian Airlines used to offer extensive services to Asmara, Massawa, and Assab from Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Lalibela, Axum, and Humera. Commercial flights between the two states last operated in 1998, just prior to the onset of the last border war.
