In response to demands by air passengers, effective November 12, Ethiopian Airlines is set to begin direct flights to Nigeria from Ethiopia. This flight will be Abuja ’s first direct link to East Africa . “Our new service to Abuja is part of our strategy of expanding to more stations in Africa, particularly West Africa, ” said Busera Awel, Vice President of Ethiopian Airlines while speaking with Business Day recently..

“We have a dedicated client base in Nigeria, and by offering new service we are giving our passengers more options complementing our Lagos service with three weekly flights to Abuja,” added Awel.

He held that Abuja is not only the capital of Africa ’s largest country but is an important business and diplomatic hub for the continent. Abuja is the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Regional Headquarters of OPEC. The new flights will offer direct connections via Addis Ababa to Dubai as well as the major capitals of East, Central and Southern Africa, including Johannesburg , Nairobi , Dar es Salaam , Kinshasa , Brazzaville , Lusaka and Lilongwe .