Addis Ababa, September 26, 2023 (FBC) – Ethiopian Airlines today announced three additional weekly flights to and from China’s city of Guangzhou.
It is known that the Airline operates eight times weekly flights to and from China’s the fifth most populous city, Guangzhou to date.
The three new additional flights will increase the number of Ethiopian Airlines’ weekly flights to Guangzhou from seven ten.
According to the Airline, the new flights will be effective as of October 11, 2023.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Mesfin Tasew recently confirmed that currently, Ethiopian Airlines flies to five Chinese destinations, namely, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Hong Kong with total weekly flights reaching 52 — 28 flights for passengers and 24 flights for cargo.
He noted that the Airlines is eying to tap the surging market in China via opening new flights, using Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, as a gateway to Africa.
“China is a very important market for Ethiopian Airlines. We have been connecting China with Africa for the last 50 years and we would like to further expand our cooperation with China by adding more frequencies and flying to more destinations,” Mr. Mesfin said.
The Group CEO said Ethiopian Airlines sees China as an engine for its future growth, noting the rise in the number of investors and business persons flying from China to Africa and vice versa.
“Our cargo flights to China are not only between Africa and China but between Europe and China as well. So we have a big cargo operation in China. We have been working with the Chinese businessmen to export their manufactured products to Africa, Europe and other parts of the world,” Mesfin said.
Recalling that Ethiopian Airlines made its first flight to Shanghai in 1973, and shifted to Beijing the same year, Mesfin mentioned that China has continued to be his company’s very important destination in Asia.
Accordingly, the latest decision to increase weekly flights to Guangzhou from 7 to 10 is practical testament to the Airline’s intentions of further strengthening its presence in China.
On the other hand, the Airlines also flies to and from Chongqing, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Xiamen, and Ürümqi cities of China, according to a data published last December.