Ethiopian Airlines returns to Enugu in Nigeria, makes Dammam its 3rd destination in Saudi Arabia
After two years of stagnation, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ethiopian Airlines (ETH) has been moving forward for several months, reopening old routes and launching new ones.
Ethiopian Airlines will return to Enugu on 5 June 2022, with four weekly flights (Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays). Africa's largest airline will have no competition on this route between Addis Ababa and the city in southeastern Nigeria. Once operational, Enugu will become the fourth city in the country served by ETH, after Lagos (one daily flight excluding cargo), Abuja (one daily flight) and Kano (three weekly flights excluding cargo).
Ethiopian Airlines inaugurated its Enugu route on August 24, 2013, making it the first international airline to serve the south-eastern Nigerian state. The route was later suspended in August 2019 when the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) closed the airport for renovation.
As part of the rebuilding and expansion of its network, Ethiopia's national flag carrier will offer a new route to Dammam (three trips per week) from 3 July. The capital of the eastern province of Ash-Sharqiya will thus become the third city in Saudi Arabia to be connected to the Ethiopian flag carrier's network, after Riyadh (one daily flight excluding cargo) and Jeddah (one daily flight excluding cargo). This corridor will also be operated as a monopoly, making Addis Ababa the fourth African city connected to Dammam, after Nairobi (Kenya), Khartoum (Sudan) and Cairo and Alexandria (Egypt).
In addition to re-establishing its pre-Covid-19 network of passenger destinations, Ethiopian Airlines is also planning to expand its cargo service. The order for five B777 Freighters confirmed with Boeing on Wednesday 25 May is part of this plan. "The addition of these five B777 Freighters to our cargo fleet will enable us to meet the growing demand for our cargo operations," said Mesfin Tasew, the group's new CEO.
