Ethiopian Airlines expands its cargo operations

Ethiopian Airlines says it will open a West African cargo hub in Lomé, Togo, with regional freighter service to eleven cities in ten countries, and connections to its main hubs in Europe and Africa.

Operations at the Lomé hub will commence with a recently-acquired 737-400 freighter (shown at right) on long-term dry lease from Aviation Capital Group. Ethiolpian will operate the new freighter (which was converted by Aeronautical Engineers, Inc) on an ACMI basis for its Lomé-based joint venture ASKY Airlines, and will use its own long-haul freighters to connect Lomé to its main African hub in Addis Ababa, and to its European hub in Liege. Regional destinations to be served from the new Lomé hub are: Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Abuja (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Bamako (Mali), Cotonou (Benin), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), N’djamena (Chad), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Port Harcourt (Nigeria).

Discussing the move, Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said “Africa is a large continent in landmass, economy and population, and multiple hubs with multiple African airline partnerships are critically essential to ensure global standard air transport. Over the last three years, in line with our Vision 2025 multiple-hub strategy in Africa, we have successfully established a second passenger network hub in Lomé, in partnership with ASKY to better serve the West Africa community. We are now extending this successful partnership to the cargo business.”

Those interested in Ethiopian’s rise to its present position as the biggest cargo carrier in Africa should be sure to join us at the upcoming Cargo Facts Aircraft Symposium (21 – 23 October, in Seattle) where Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam will give the keynote address. For more information, or to register, visit cargofactssymposium.com.