Ethiopian Airlines loses $3m to Kano, Enugu routes
Ethiopian Airline is discussing and exploring the possibilities of establishing strong airlines in Nigeria and Ghana.
The airline also reported loses of about $3 million annually on its operation on Kano and Enugu routes because of low traffic.
Its Group Chief Executive officer, Tewolde Gebremariam, in an interview with reporters in Abuja, said: “We have been discussing and exploring possibilities of establishing or supporting a strong airline in Nigeria.
“I don’t mean that there is no strong airline in Nigeria, but we want an airline that can satisfy the demand of the domestic market, the regional market and international market.
“We are also in talks with Ghana government to establish Ghana Airways but the biggest market, which is Nigeria has been a challenge to be honest with you.
“We are discussing at all levels. We are also discussing with private carriers, local carriers in Nigeria and the government but we are making it abundantly clear that we want to start a new one because starting from a clean slate or paper is advantageous because we won’t have any legacy or baggage to carry.
“There is a strong indication and interest from both sides and I am very hopeful that very soon, we will have a strong base to start with and from our track record; we have established Asky, Malawi, Mozambique and now Chad airlines.
“We make sure that when we start something, we start professionally and make sure that it succeeds.�
On the impact of Nigeria not owning a carrier, he said: “Nigeria is a very large country but unfortunately, since the demise of Nigeria Airways, we are unfortunate that they don’t have a strong carrier.
“So, this concern is part of continental concern because in Africa, non-African carriers have the biggest shares.
“It is around 80-20 ratio. 80 percent of the traffic between Africa and the rest of the world is carried by non-African carriers.”
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