Ethiopian airlines retains first position, transports 5.2 million passengers

Ethiopian Airlines Group has continued its dominance in African aviation having transported 5.2 million passengers and freighting 500,000 cargo through its hub, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

With this development, ET as it is popularly called has retained its enviable leadership position in the continent.

According to the African Airlines Association’s (AFRAA) report, Ethiopian Airline has been ranked first by passenger and cargo traffic in 2020.

Ethiopian carried 500 thousand tons of freight and 5.5 million passengers through its main hub, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Speaking on the rating by AFRAA, Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tewolde GebreMariam declared: “We are honoured to continue our leadership even during the Global Pandemic Crisis which has devastated the aviation industry. This is a manifestation of our resilience and agility. We are excited about the role we played in the fight against the pandemic by continuing our much-needed air connectivity within Africa and with the rest of the world without any flight suspension. We are saving lives through air transport of medical supplies and vaccines.”

Ethiopian Airlines topped the list with the highest passenger traffic transported through Addis Ababa Bole International Airport with a total of 5.5 million passengers to have been transported through the airport.

Of this traffic, Ethiopian transported 5.2 million passengers and the remaining passengers were transported by other airlines.

The cargo terminal has handled more than 500 thousand tons of freight in  2020. Ethiopia also topped the list of the most connected countries in Africa due to Ethiopian Airlines’ large number of direct flights within the continent.