Ethiopian Airlines marks dual milestone

by ALFRED SHILONGO
WINDHOEK – ETHIOPIAN Airlines has celebrated the International Women’s Day and the company’s 80th anniversary with all-women-operated flights to eight destinations.

On Sunday, the women operated flights from the capital Addis Ababa to Accra (Ghana), Cairo (Egypt), Djibouti City (Djibouti), Frankfurt (Germany) Mumbai (India), Nairobi (Kenya) and Windhoek (Namibia) as well as the local Dire Dawa destination.

The celebrations were most apt in Namibia, led by female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. She is the first head of state in the Southern African country.

Nandi-Ndaitwah presided over the dual commemorations at the Hosea Kutako International Airport, east of the capital, Windhoek.

“This remarkable is not only a source of pride for Ethiopia but for Africa as a whole. Ethiopian Airlines stands as a shining example of African excellence, discipline and innovation,” she said as she welcomed the crew.

“Over the eight decades, the airline has grown to become the largest airline on the African continent, connecting Africa to the rest of the world and strengthening people to people contact, trade, tourism and cooperation among others.”

Nandi-Ndaitwah also lauded the airline for flying the founding president, now-deceased Sam Nujoma, back to Namibia after 30 years in exile, leading to the independence of Namibia in 1990.

On September 14 1989, Nujoma ended his 29-year exile by flying from Ethiopia to Namibia on an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767.

The current president noted the new administration had prioritized the empowerment of women through appointing them to key leadership positions.

“Today, we do not only have a woman president, vice president, speaker, secretary general of the ruling party and the deputy chair of the National Council. We have women leaders in business, the medical profession, engineers and pilots, both in the civilian and the military side.”

The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines is the largest and most successful airline in Africa by key metrics, including revenue, fleet size and passenger volume.

– CAJ News