Ethiopian Airlines has announced the commencement of services to Semera, the capital of the Regional State of Afar located in the North Eastern part of Ethiopia, starting from December 14, 2013. The new service will be operated thrice weekly with Ethiopian Q-400 Bombardier aircraft on, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Afar region is well known for its early hominid fossil finds including ‘Lucy’, an Australopithecus afarensis, discovered in 1974, who lived about 3.2 million years ago, and more recently the Grandfather of Lucy’ dubbed “Kadanuumuu”, which means “big man”in Afar language and which dates back from 3.5 – 3.8 million years ago.
Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group said: “As the national carrier of Ethiopia, we have a duty to establish extensive domestic network and air connectivity that enables the flow of tourism, business, investment and trade to all parts of the country. Today, Ethiopian Regional Services covers 18 domestic points, the largest domestic network in Africa. Now that Semera airport is ready, we are very happy to start our flights and to support the region’s economic development.”
With the region’s growing mining and tourism industry, passengers from the Afar region as well as Ethiopian extensive network in five continents, especially business and leisure travelers from Toronto and Washington DC making transfer flights to Semera, will be able to enjoy the smooth and hassle- free travel experience.
Ethiopian Regional Services is one of the seven strategic businesses units of Ethiopian Airlines Group and was established per Vision 2025 strategic roadmap with a view to cater to the growing domestic and regional travel needs.
Ethiopian is the recipient of the 2013 SKYTRAX award for “Best Airline Staff Service in Africa”; the Passengers Choice Award for “Best Airline in Africa”; and recently the African Airlines Association award as “African Airline of the Year”.
Ethiopian Press Release
