Friday, October 14, 2011

Ethiopia launches flight to Khartoum from the North

Ethiopian Airlines began direct flights from Ethiopia’s northern regions to the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Thursday. It was announced that the new flight will takeoff to Khartoum from Bahir Dar, capital to the Amhara Regional State and Tigray's Regional State Capital, Mekelle.
Ethiopian Airlines announced that the new flight services will run four days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and Sundays using Bombardier Q-400 Aircraft.
It is expected that the new direct flights will boost tourism and business travel between Northern Ethiopia and Sudan according to a press statement. The increase in relations will also strengthen the existing cooperation between the two countries the statement added.
“Ethiopian has long been flying from Addis Ababa to Khartoum and the new flight will enhance the ever increasing socio-economic and political ties of the two nations” said Tewolde Gebremariam CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.  
The new flights will be one of the first international routes Ethiopian Airlines will operate out of regional airport. The only other flight that takes off from an airport other than Bole International airport is the regular route to Djibouti from Dire Dawa.