Ethiopian Airlines announced that it will start new services to Bale Robe, located in the South-Central part of the country and Kombolcha in North-Central Ethiopia effective 1 and 10 September 2014 respectively.
The new flights will be on a daily bases to Kombolcha, and four times a week to Bale Robe on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday using the Q400 aircraft. The addition of these new services will bring the number of Ethiopian domestic destinations to 20.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said: “As the national flag carrier of Ethiopia, we have a national obligation to play a critical role in the country’s broad-based, decentralized and all-inclusive socio-economic development endeavor by availing critically essential air connectivity. Our new flights to Bale Robe, which has breathtaking attractions such as the Sof Omar Cave, and to Kombolcha, a burgeoning industrial hub, will be instrumental in enabling tourism flow and economic development.”
Ethiopian Regional Service currently operates scheduled flight services to 18 domestic stations using the new Bombardier Q-400 aircraft and B737. In line with Vision 2025 strategic roadmap, it aims to increase the number of domestic destinations to 26 by 2025.