Ethiopia: Etihad Offers New Cargo Flights to Europe, Middle East
Etihad, a national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched a new cargo flight to and from Addis Abeba.
On Friday July 28, Etihad’s inaugural cargo freighter landed at the Addis Abeba International airport at 4:40pm and departed with seven tonnes of exports less than an hour later.
The flight will operate every Friday, departing from Addis Abeba, stopping over in Abu Dhabi for about an hour, and continuing on to Frankfurt. This service is operated with one of Etihad’s Crystal Cargo A300-600F freighters, which offers 44tn of cargo capacity per flight.
“Ethiopia is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, which is very much based on its blooming floriculture market,” said Ingo Roessler, vice president of cargo service at Etihad Airways. “By adding Addis Ababa to our Khartoum rotation, we will be expanding our customers’ opportunities across the region, and also further developing our perishable services.”
In addition to flowers, Etihad expects to transport meat and leather products from Ethiopia to Gulf destinations and Europe.
Cargo coming into Ethiopia, originating from Europe, the Indian sub-continent, the Far East and South Africa, will most likely consist of personal effects, hi-tech equipment, consumer goods, agriculture machinery and pharmaceutical products.
Of the seven tonnes of goods Etihad shipped on Friday, five were said to be meat being shipped to Abu Dhabi, and the remaining two tonnes were flowers destined for the European market.
Golden Rose, a British and Indian flower exporter in Tafki, 41Km west of Addis Abeba, consigned half of the flower load. According to the company’s Director, A. J. Shmji, the first shipment of roses is a trial for Etihad.
“We will be informed about the quality of the roses, when we get the report from our customers in Western Europe on Monday.”
Shmji was especially interested in the thermal blanket offered by Etihad’s service that should maintain the temperature of the flowers throughout the journey.
Etihad charges 1.75 dollars per kilogram for cargo shipped from Addis Abeba to Frankfurt, which is slightly cheaper than Ethiopian Airlines, which charges 1.8 dollars.
Kagnew Fisseha, manager of public relations with Ethiopian Airlines, told Fortune that Ethiopia’s flagship airline was not overly concerned by the competition and welcomed Etihad to the market. He said that Etihad would use the Ethiopian Airline’s new cargo terminal, which was constructed at a total cost of 133.1 million Br, with a capacity to handle 104,000 tons of cargo per annum.
Etihad was established in August 2003, and made its first commercial flight on November 12, 2003. With the launch of this new service to Ethiopia, Etihad now flies to 36 international destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.
Dawit Wubishet, manager of Addis Express Plc, which is the General Sales and Services Agent (GSSA) for Etihad Crystal Cargo in Ethiopia told Fortune that the commencement of the flight will move up to three times a week after September. He said that the thermal blanket is one of the best qualities that Etihad offers.
The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority granted the license for the airline’s operation a year ago.