Ethiopian Airlines sets to resume flights to Tigray, Ethiopia’s embateled region following the peace deal reached between the government and the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Mesfin Tassew, CEO of the airlines confirmed on Thursday.
“The airline is preparing to resume regular flights to the region,” said Tassew in a statement.
Service to the region was interrupted for two years since the TPLF forces attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Force in November 2020 – an incident which evolved into a full-fledged devastating two years war affecting Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions.
The resumption of flights to the region is expected to ease the delivery of humanitarian aid to the region, Tassew said.
The Tigray region is one of the areas in the country where Ethiopian Airlines had several flights before the outbreak of the war.
Tassew sees the resumption of flights to the region as something that will have multifaceted benefits including easing aid delivery to the region.
The CEO also said the airports in Mekelle and Shire are in good condition – an indication that the flight will resume sooner, he said. However, no date for the resumption of flights is set.
The airport to Axum – one of the busiest tourist destinations in the country is not in a condition. It sustained serious damages due to the war.
Apart from being a home for a two thousand years old Obelisk, Axum is prominent for Zion Mariam Church which is said to have the Ark of the Covenant that was given to Moses in the Christian religious traditions.
MG/abj/APA