Ethiopia, Japan revisited their aviation agreement

Addis Ababa, January 26, 2024 (FBC) – Ethiopian Airlines will commence flights to Japan on a schedule of seven times weekly, in conformance with the agreement forged between the civil aviation authorities of Ethiopia and Japan.

This development materialized following a zoom meeting on January 25 between Mr. Getachew Mengste, the Director-General of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, and Mr. Takahashi Yasuhito, Director of Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), a branch of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism (MLITT). During this encounter, the two nations revised the existings agreement they had previously entered into within the realm of aviation.

The recent accord signifies that Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s foremost passenger and cargo carrier, is poised to augment its weekly flights to Japan from five to seven.

It is indicated that the previous agreement could only allow Ethiopian Airlines to use 50 percent of its carrying capacity in conformance with the fifth freedom right. In other words, Ethiopian Airlines was limited to only 50 percent of its total passenger capacity when transiting Republic of Korea from Addis Ababa to Japan

The fifth freedom right means that the aircraft of country A, from a service originating in country A, is allowed to embark passengers and cargo in country B and disembark them in country C.

In that regard, the new agreement will lift this limit on the airline.

It is learned that there is no direct flight from Japan to Addis Ababa, but if it starts in the future, the agreement will be valid for Japan as well.