Ethiopian spreads its wings

Ethiopian Airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has landed at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, on the Zanzibar archipelago.

Addis Ababa-headquartered Ethiopian Airlines said that it has deployed the latest addition to the fleet into Zanzibar as part of its commitment to “serve Africa, its home market, with the most advanced and latest technology aircraft the industry has to offer”.

The carrier is currently operating a daily service to Zanzibar via Kilimanjaro. From next month (December), it will operate a three times a week direct service on the route – every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Boeing’s 787-9 offers a total of 36 LD3 positions or capacity for 12 pallets, depending on an airline’s requirements.

In June, the carrier inaugurated its new Cargo Terminal-II facility in Addis Ababa.

Covering a total area of 150,000 sq m, the new facility includes a dry cargo terminal warehouse, a perishable cargo terminal with cool-chain storage, fully automated with elevating transport vehicle (ETV) technology and an apron area for five large freighter aircraft.

The new terminal is also fitted with different climate chambers for the storage and handling of temperature-sensitive goods such as fresh agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and life science products.

In the same month, the airline also announced a deal to purchase two B777 freighters.

Ethiopian’s Vision 2025 programme set an annual target of 725,000 tonnes of cargo to be handled by the carrier by 2025.