Africa’s largest carrier Ethiopian airlines has launched direct flight connectivity between Chennai and Addis Ababa. The flight services will be operated three times a week, Chennai would be the fourth destination for the airline to connect after New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, a top official said on July 3.

“It is the fourth destination for us and the first connecting service after the pandemic. We were able to overcome the challenges in the last three years due to Covid-19 and are now on the growth path,” Ethiopian Airlines chief commercial officer Lemma Yadecha Gudeta told PTI after unveiling the service.

The service’s launch coincides with the 50th anniversary of uninterrupted flight service between Mumbai and Ethiopia, he said. According to him, Ethiopian Airlines besides opening the new route to Chennai, the airline would increase to double daily and ten weekly flights to the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi.

Asked whether the airline was planning to connect other cities with Addis Ababa apart from Chennai, he replied in the affirmative saying Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad were ‘under the radar.’ Gudeta said the airliner was also planning to connect Colombo, Karachi, and Dhaka on the international routes.