Ethiopian Airlines Gets Green Light to Increase Tokyo Flights

January 27, 2024

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopian Airlines gets a green light to serve seven weekly flights to Tokyo after the two countries renewed their aviation agreement.

The Civil Aviation authorities of the two countries revised the bilateral agreement during a virtual meeting on Thursday.

The airline has been operating a thrice-a-week flight to Japan with a stop in Hong Kong after its first direct flight to Tokyo’s Narita Airport on April 15, 2015.

The number of flights operated by its Boeing 787 Dreamliner rose to four when Ethiopian added a non-stop service to Narita Airport in Feb 2022.

The renewed accord has now granted the airline a permitto expand its Tokyo flight frequency to seven, according to the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority.

The two sides also added a reciprocity fifth freedom right provision into the aviation agreement. This will lift the 50% passenger carrying capacity cap on Ethiopian flights making transit stop in South Korea en route to Tokyo.

Currently, there is no Japanese carrier operating a direct flight from Tokyo to Addis Ababa. But the fifth freedom of rights will apply when such services start, per the renewed agreement.(Source: Ethiopian Airlines Group)