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| A plane of Ethiopian Airlines |
Ethiopian Airlines restarts flights to Pakistan
after a 20-year hiatus
Direct air link between Pakistan and Nigeria
will further strengthen bilateral ties between Islamabad and Addis Ababa in
diverse fields.
The dream became reality with the resumption of
Ethiopian Airlines flights to Pakistan on May 9, 2023 when first flight of the
East African country landed at Pakistan’s coastal city Karachi after a pause of
two decades.
The flight, ET 694, that landed at Karachi’s
Jinnah International Airport brought 110 passengers, including senior Ethiopian
diplomats, officials, and a trade delegation.
The airline received a warm welcome and Sindh
province’s chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and his delegation personally
greeted the guests.
In past, Ethiopian Airlines operated direct
flights to Karachi before discontinuing it.
In a twitter announcement, Ethiopian Airlines
said it is pleased to commence four weekly direct flights to Karachi, Pakistan.
The first flight from Addis Ababa took a time
of four-hour and 25-minute to reach its destination using a brand new Boeing
737 Max 8 aircraft.
During a news conference in Karachi, the
Ethiopian ambassador to Pakistan, Jamal Beker Abdula, thanked Pakistani
government in restoring air connectivity between the two countries. The
ambassador also highlighted the potential benefits of direct flights for
promoting trade and tourism between Ethiopia and Pakistan.
The resumption of direct flights between
Ethiopia and Pakistan is expected to boost trade and investment opportunities,
as well as enhance people-to-people contacts between the two countries.