Ethiopia overtakes Dubai as the main source of air traffic in Africa

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Ethiopia has overtaken Dubai as a transit route for long-haul passengers to Africa, underscoring the success of the airline's development strategy and the reforms of its new prime minister .

ForwardKeys travel consulting company said Wednesday that the Addis Ababa airport had increased the number of passengers making international transfers to sub-Saharan Africa for the fifth consecutive year. By 2018, he had passed Dubai, one of the busiest airports in the world, transport trip to the region.

Analyzing the data of travel booking systems recording 17 million flight bookings per day, ForwardKeys found that the number of long-haul transfers to sub-Saharan Africa via Addis Ababa jumped 85% between 2013 and 2017 Transfers via Dubai increased by 31 percent.

Until this year, the growth of Addis Ababa is 18%, against 3% for Dubai.

Dubai has long been a major global airline hub, as it is the base of the Emirates carrier. Given the lack of an "open sky" agreement to smooth flights across Africa, many passengers traveling from one part of the continent to another, or from Asia or Europe to Africa, often have to transit through Dubai.

But that changes.

Ethiopian Airlines [ETHA.UL], the country's best-performing state, accelerates the 15-year strategy launched in 2010 to regain market share on routes bound for Africa dominated by Turkish Airlines and Emirates.

It is also weaving a mosaic of new African roads into growing and lucrative Asian markets.

ForwardKeys also attributed the recent rise in bookings via Addis Ababa in part to a positive international response to the sweeping reforms introduced by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in April, and who upset the policy in that country by around 105 millions of people. people.

In particular, he cites two changes: a decision authorizing visitors to apply for online visas and Abiy's commitment to open the economy largely controlled by Ethiopia to foreign investment.

After Abiy made peace with Eritrea to end a two-decade state of war, the Ethiopian resumed flights to his neighbor in July. This month, he relaunched flights to the Somali capital after four decades.

And the rise of travel via Addis Ababa should continue. International bookings through Ethiopia increased 40 percent year-on-year from November to January 2019, ahead of all other African destinations, ForwardKeys said.