The FINANCIAL — Ethiopian Airlines is revising its air traffic schedule to Scandinavia and will begin flying non-stop from Addis Ababa to Stockholm Arlanda Airport using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
The carrier currently makes a stopover on the European continent en route to Stockholm, but beginning in March 2017, Stockholm Arlanda will instead be the stop en route to its final destination, Oslo.
Ethiopian Airlines already flies today between Addis Ababa and Stockholm via the European continent, but passengers will now no longer have a stopover. Travel to Stockholm will be smoother, and the journey will be one hour shorter, according to Stockholm Arlanda Airport.
The combination of sun and safari attracts many Swedes to Africa, with places such as Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro and several cities in South Africa among the 54 destinations included in Ethiopian Airlines’ service to Africa. The new route will also promote business exchanges between the countries through better access for both Swedish and African companies. In Sweden, many people also have friends and family in Africa, which Ethiopian Airlines can attract with modified timetables, generous baggage rules and competitive prices.
“We are pleased that Ethiopian Airlines has chosen to make Stockholm Arlanda its main destination in Scandinavia. Traffic to Africa via Addis Ababa from Stockholm has grown sharply over the past three years, with an overall increase of as much as 130 per cent. More than half of the passengers on this route are Swedish leisure travellers, who will now have a smoother journey to African destinations with just one stopover,” says Elizabeth Axtelius, director of aviation business at Swedavia.
Ethiopian Airlines will fly the Addis Ababa-Stockholm-Oslo route four times a week beginning on March 26, 2017. On May 29, traffic will increase to five departures a week. Flying time is 7.5 hours between Addis Ababa and Stockholm, and flight is overnight. Ethiopian Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, and the aircraft model on this route is an ultra-modern Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with seating for 270 passengers.
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