Ethiopian Airlines is planning to resume flights to Singapore on March 25, 2023, a move that brings the national carrier back closer to restoring service to all pre pandemic destinations.
The restored route will be operated four days a week with the 270-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliners configured in a two-class configuration on the service, which will have a tag-on to and from Kuala Lumpur.
This means that flights will start in Addis Ababa and transit at Changi Airport before departing for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On the return journey, flights from Kuala Lumpur will go on to Addis Ababa after transiting at Changi Airport.
Mr Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s Managing Director of Air Hub Development, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Ethiopian Airlines to Changi Airport again. Ethiopian Airlines has been consistently voted as the Best Airline in Africa, and the network from its Addis Ababa hub connects with more than 60 destinations on the African continent. The flight between Singapore and Ethiopia will offer more travel options for passengers from our region to Africa. For many Singaporeans, Ethiopia could also be an exciting new vacation destination as it boasts many attractions ranging from historic sites such as Axum to breathtaking natural geography such as the Simien Mountains and Blue Nile falls.
Ethiopian Airlines will not face any direct competition on the route, which it last flew regularly in March 2020.
Mr Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer said, “We are delighted to continue our service to Singapore, which was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The flight will further expand our network in Asia and create air connectivity for passengers travelling between Africa and Singapore. The new flight will also facilitate trade, investment, and tourism ties between Africa and Singapore. In line with our plan for growing our network around the world, we will keep on opening new routes to enhance connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world via Addis Ababa.”
The last time the carrier operated its passenger services to Changi Airport was from June 2017 to March 2020 due to the pandemic and border closures. However, the Star Alliance airline continued to operate ad hoc cargo services using passenger aircraft.
Passenger traffic between Africa and Southeast Asia grew steadily between 2015 and 2019 pre-pandemic. More than 1.4 million passengers traveled between the Africa and South-east Asia in 2019, an increase of about 30 per cent from 2015.
Flights from Addis Ababa to Singapore will take about 10½ hours, while the return journey will take close to nine hours.
(Airspace African Report)