Ethiopian Airlines lands for the first time in 56 years in Barbados in the Caribbean
On 30 November 2021, Barbados officially became a Republic. Since then, the micro-island state, located in the Caribbean Sea, has continued to open up to the world, particularly to Africa, with which it shares a rich cultural heritage. The country is currently hosting the first Africa-Caribbean Economic Forum.
Ethiopian Airlines landed on Barbadian soil for the first time in about 50 years on Wednesday 31 August. Departing Lagos, Nigeria at 6.40am, flight ETH8922 arrived at Grantley Adams International Airport at about 10.30am local time after a flight of about 8 hours. The Boeing 788 (ET-ASH), lined up on this route for the occasion, was carrying about 100 passengers - delegates from Nigeria and other African countries who are currently attending the ongoing AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2022) from September 1-3 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center in the capital Bridgetown.
For Barbadian authorities, this inaugural flight could pave the way for the establishment of a regular service between Barbados and Africa. "I think it's a historic moment as we said, after 1966, when an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft first touched down in Barbados. So we are very happy and I think this is just the beginning of a closer relationship with Africa and its countries," commented Jens Thraenhart, managing director of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI), the national tourism board that helped make the direct flight possible. "There is a lot of heritage that connects Barbados and the African continent, particularly West Africa, so this conference is of fundamental importance in terms of strengthening those ties.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of Barbados are behind this first Invest Barbados meeting and Export Barbados is the co-manager of the Forum.
