Ethiopian Airlines announced that it plans to establish a national carrier in Nigeria, after meeting with the Federal Government and private sector players.
Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam, announced the new move on behalf of the airlines in Abuja during the weekend. He said that the failure of Nigeria to own a carrier was a big threat to the industry in Africa which could displace indigenous carriers in the continent.
Mr. Tewolde said, “We have been discussing and exploring possibilities to establish or support 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 [the] international market.”
“We are also in talks with the 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 and 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,” the CEO added.
“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. We make sure that when we start something we start professionally and make sure that it succeeds,” he said.
Highlighting the important position Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, holds, Mr. Tewolde noted it is “unfortunate” that the country has no strong carrier since the demise of Nigeria Airways. “So,” he added, “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.”
Stressing the need to work together for African carriers, Mr. Tewolde pointed out that the homegrown carriers have only 20 percent of the market. Hence, he emphasized the need to “work together with all African countries” for the homegrown indigenous carriers to grow strong. “We have done this with Asky in Togo and we want to do it in Nigeria,” he declared.
Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the leading and fastest growing airline in Africa, with seventy plus years of operation.
Sources: Leadership Nigeria, The Punch
