Ethiopia’s national carrier Ethiopian Airlines has announced its
plans to begin flights from Dublin to Addis Ababa and Los Angeles from
summer 2015. The government recently signed a deal that will allow it to
make a stopover at Dublin to allow passengers to board the flight on
the way to Los Angeles from the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Airlines, which is currently the biggest airline in Africa,
said that it will operate the Addis Ababa-Dublin-Los Angeles route round
the year starting from next summer. The airline also said that it will
start selling the tickets for travel on this route soon.
Media reports said that the announcement of the new service was expected
for quite some time now. However, it came to be known in July that the
Ethiopian government has finally signed an agreement with the Department
of Transport granting right to the airline to start flying into Dublin.
Dublin Airport Authority officials have expressed happiness and welcomed
the launch of new service. The officials said that Dublin Airport will
now get two new year-round services because of this.
Kevin Toland, Chief Executive of Dublin Airport Authority, in a
statement said that Dublin’s position will be further strengthened as a
hub for transatlantic flights with the launch of the new route.
Toland said that with Ethiopian Airlines entry into Ireland it will
become easier to reconnect Dublin to Los Angeles and thereby also make
African destinations greatly accessible as well. He said that the
airline currently has largest number of destinations in Africa on its
flight network.
