The Leading Airline In Africa: Why Ethiopian Airlines Stands Out Among Others, Suits African Union Agenda

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the flag carrier of Ethiopia and one of the continent’s leading carriers operationally unrivaled in Africa for efficiency, and ease, which avail passengers the room for requests and expression of interest as well as respond to cases in stipulated time.

It’s in line with the need for all Nigerian airports to fit into the masterplan of safety, strong and efficient operation that Ethiopian Airlines partners with Nigeria.

This effectiveness has necessitated the advanced reasons Ethiopian Airlines was chosen as the preferred technology partner.

Ethiopian Airlines is Certified as a 4-Star Airline for the quality of its airport and onboard product and staff service.

Some of the things that distinguish Ethiopian Airlines from numerous airlines are Product rating which includes seats, amenities, food & beverages, IFE, cleanliness, etc, and standard service ratings for both cabin staff and ground staff.

It’s worth noting that Ethiopian Airlines currently serves over 127 international and 22 domestic destinations operating the newest and youngest fleet.

One can therefore confirm why Ethiopian Airlines was voted as the “Best African Airline.” It’s simply as a result of its unique operational services and lots more.

According to a Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, apart from being one of the biggest and most efficient airlines in the world, Ethiopian Airlines was the only airline that responds to its requests for expression of interest and fulfilled all the stipulated conditions being laid down by Nigeria to be picked.

Besides, Sirika pointed out that Ethiopian Airlines had proven to the world that it was not only efficient and prosperous by registering over $1 billion in profit after tax, even in the wake of COVID-19, but had also continued to flourish, despite the challenges in the aviation sector globally.

He said: “We did not cede Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines. It is the only airline in the world that made a $1 billion profit, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the most prosperous, efficient, and leading airline on the African continent and it was the only airline that responded to our request for a partnership to run the airline after many months of advertisement of expression of interest.

“Even after some interested persons asked Nigeria to extend the time of you and we did, none of them showed interest. Even though officials of the ministry of aviation, led by me, personally visited some of the leading airlines across the world and pleaded with them to take up the partnership with Nigeria to set up the airline, none of them signified interest except Ethiopian Airlines.

”It has been allotted 49 percent shares, while Nigerian institutional investors take up 45 percent and the federal government will take up only five percent.

“The choice of Ethiopian Airlines is good for Nigeria and it is in line with the African Union Agenda and spirit to take advantage of the over 1.2 billion population in Africa. Our desire is for Africa to copper center and leads the African aviation market through our partnership with Ethiopian Airlines.

”The partnership will also reduce the cost of operations and airfares for Nigerian African air travelers as opposed to the current situation.

“Contrary to what people think, let it be known that Ethiopian Airlines emerged as the preferred partner of Nigeria Air through a transparent and credible process that can’t be faulted because warfare project to succeed so that Nigeria can have an airline that does not suffer the fate of the former Nigeria Airways,” Sirika said.

The minister also announced that going forward, all airports in the country must be built and operated by the Aviation masterplan that had been developed to avoid chaotic situations that had already sprung up in many of the airports, including Lagos International airport, where many structures have already been marked for demolition in overall public interest involved.

Asked to pinpoint what the Buhari administration had recorded as a major achievement in the aviation sector, Sirika listed the strengthening of institute projects in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, and global best practices and policies that delivered safe, strong, and efficient industry as Buhari’s greatest achievement between 2016 and today.

He also warned international airlines operating in Nigeria to respect the country’s south sovereignty, dignity, and honor in their operations under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, BASA, they signed with the country and not to threaten it at random because of the delay in repatriating their funds.

He said those airlines needed Nigeria just as Nigerians needed their services, asking them to honor respect, patience, and understanding of Nigeria, which had promised to clear the backlog of the accrued funds before the end of the year.