Ethiopian Airlines is to increase its scheduled air services to Mombasa, Kenya, following an agreement reached between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.
The agreement will now see Ethiopian Airlines fly to Mombasa twice daily as Ethiopia and Kenya seek to deepen trade ties.
“The Kenyan side agreed to grant Ethiopian Airlines a second frequency flight to Mombasa,” said a joint communique from State House after Kenyatta met Dr Ali in Nairobi.
The additional slot to the airline is also said to be a boost to the coastal tourism which has been heavily dependent on charter flights from Europe. Currently, only two regional airlines — Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir — operate scheduled flights to Mombasa from Addis Ababa and Kigali respectively.
Currently Ethiopian Airlines plans to more than double its fleet to 120 and become Africa’s biggest airline by 2025, but it already has 100 planes flying to dozens of destinations from Asia to South America, including four US cities.
Kenya Airways plans its first direct flight to the US in October. Hoteliers at the Coast have been lobbying for more international direct flights to Mombasa to ease air transport through Moi International Airport and attract more tourists.
Currently, tourists coming to Kenya using other global carriers must first land at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before connecting to Mombasa.