Ethiopian Airlines has marked 75 years since it began commercial flights, but tough times still lie ahead for aviation as the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect international travel.
A special event was held to mark the anniversary on a flight to Cairo.
The Airlines’ CEO Tewolde GebreMariam warned of serious challenges posed by COVID-19’ but said they are the commercial airline that hasn’t sought government bailout and didn’t lay off a single employee.
To mitigate the damage caused by the pandemic, Ethiopian quickly jumped on the opportunity to move tons of medical supplies meant for coronavirus response in Africa.
In addition to its 12 dedicated cargo aircraft, the company reconfigured 25 passenger planes to turn them into freighters to respond to increased cargo demand.
On April 8 1946, the company operated its first-ever commercial flight flying from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital to Cairo, Egypt.
The carrier’s initial fleet consisted of five C-47s acquired from the US government but has since grown to 127 aircraft. Ethiopian is Africa’s biggest airline by revenue and profit, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
African Airlines have been particularly hit by covid-19 and the International Civil Aviation Association (ICAO) says African airlines were at risk of losing $6 billion in revenue and 3 million jobs in 2020 compared to 2019.
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