Ethiopian launches first African freighter service to Miami

Yesterday, Ethiopian Airlines launched the first of two weekly freighter flights between Addis Ababa and Miami creating the first-ever cargo-only route between the African continent and Miami International Airport (MIA).

The scheduled flights will operate on a route that includes intermediate stops in Spain, Colombia and Belgium, and all flights will employ 777-200LRF freighter aircraft.

The MIA Ethiopian service is the latest in a series of freighter-route expansions connecting the Latin American market to the rest of the world via the Florida hub. This year MIA started weekly freighter service from Southern Air to Hong Kong via Anchorage; a second weekly frequency to Istanbul by Turkish Cargo; and direct service to Tokyo by Polar Air Cargo. In 2017, TACA Peru began four weekly freighter flights to MIA from five South American cities, while Mexico’s Aeronaves TSM launched 10 weekly freighter flights to MIA from Cancun, and Qatar Airways debuted two weekly cargo flights between MIA and Doha, with intermediate stops in Luxembourg, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Quito, and Liège.

“With the new service, Ethiopian will carry Inditex high-end textile products from Zaragoza [Spain] to the Americas,” said Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. “In line with our strategic roadmap, Vision 2025, we will keep on expanding our cargo destinations worldwide, thereby facilitating trade and economic growth among different regions of the world.”

Ethiopian Airlines is the largest cargo operator in Africa, serving more than 92 destinations across five continents.