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The Ethiopian Aviation Academy announced that it is in the process of a large scale expansion project expected to cost an estimated 50 million US Dollars.

The academy is undertaking the expansion as part of its effort to increase its enrollment capacity to meet the ever increasing demand from trainees interested in its basic and recurrent training programs explained Tewolde Gebre-Mariam, Chief Executive Officer of the airline.

The expansion project will include the construction of buildings and supplying the Academy with computer based trainings, modern training aircraft, simulators, and other high tech facilities he said.

Ethiopian Airlines is set to receive eight new passenger aircraft and expand its international destinations by six in the coming months. The airline has placed orders for a total of 26 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, with eight of them scheduled for delivery in the near future.

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, has announced plans to fly to the Republic of Benin beginning on the 15th of June.

Ethiopian will operate non stop flights between Addis Ababa and the economic capital of Benin, Cotonou every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with return flights from Cotonou to Addis Ababa scheduled for Tuesdays Thursdays and Saturdays.

Ethiopian offers accessible and convenient contact between Eastern-Western parts of Africa as well as between destinations in the North and South of the continent through its strategically located hub in Addis Ababa according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of the airline.

Ethiopian Airlines will begin flight to Kuala Lampur, capital city of Malaysia as of November of this year. The flights will serve to connect the Malaysian business sector to Africa as well as servicing the small Ethiopian expat community in Malaysia, which mainly consists of students according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of the airlines.

It is also expected that the flights will support Malaysian companies engaged in Ethiopia, such as Petronas undertaking oil and gas exploration projects in the country he added.

In addition the new flight will enhance networking opportunities with countries in South Eastern Asia such as Singapore and the Philippines.

Ethiopian Airlines announced that it is to launch flights to Ndola, Zambia three times a week.  The airline will introduce the new route beginning from the 31st of March.

The airline decided to launch this route because Ndola is third largest city in Zambia and the commercial and industrial center for the copper producing part of the country according to sources according to the company’s press release.

This flight will be the second Zambian destination to Ethiopia and is a part of its efforts to connect Africa to the rest of the world said Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive of the Airline.