Press Releases & News

Africa’s Largest Airline Has Operated Flights to Vienna for a Decade:
Ethiopian Airlines and Vienna Airport celebrate an anniversary

Ten years ago, an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa landed in Vienna for the first time. Africa’s biggest airline set an important milestone by operating the first direct flight between Austria and Ethiopia in June 2014. For Vienna Airport, Ethiopian Airlines has emerged as an important partner over the past decade and is also celebrating a new record on the Vienna-Addis Ababa route: over 1 million passengers have traveled to and from Vienna with Ethiopian Airlines. The 10th anniversary of this collaboration was celebrated yesterday, 6 June 2024, in the presence of H.E. Rapulane Sydney Molekane, Ambassador of  South African Embassy, H.E  Lisanework Gorfu, Minister Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office,  Teklehaimanot Gebreyohannes, Managing Director International services of Ethiopian Airlines Group, Saba Gebremedhin Kassaye, Regional Director Austria and Eastern Europe of Ethiopian Airlines and Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport, together with over 120 guests from business, aviation, and tourism.

“Ethiopian Airlines has provided us with an important entry point to Africa by offering flights from Vienna to Addis Ababa and many other African destinations. More than one million passengers have already taken advantage of this flight connection. Ethiopian Airlines is an indispensable partner for us, featuring reliable service and new destinations such as Copenhagen. By providing a North-South flight connection, it not only strengthens our economic and cultural ties to the African continent but also the role of Vienna as a flight hub. We would like to express our thanks for this valuable partnership and look forward to many more successful years of good collaboration,” says Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport.

“As Africa’s leading carrier, we were proud to connect Vienna with Africa and beyond. Today, we are even more proud to have sustained that connection for a decade. We are pleased & honored to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of delivering seamless and convenient travel service between Vienna and the vast Ethiopian network that stands at 135 international destinations in five continents as of today” states Teklehaimanot Gebreyohannes, Managing Director International services of Ethiopian Airlines Group.

Austrian-African gala evening event with more than 120 guests from business, aviation and tourism
Within the context of an exclusive evening event, the 10th anniversary of Ethiopian Airlines’ presence at Vienna Airport and the many years of good collaboration were celebrated together with more than 120 guests from business, aviation and tourism yesterday, 6 June 2024. Among the guests were Tekle Gebreyohannes, Deputy CCO and MDI of Ethiopian Airlines, Saba Gebremedhin Kassaye, General Manager Austria of Ethiopian Airlines, Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport, H.E. Rapulane Sydney Molekane, Ambassador of South African Embassy, H.E Lisanework Gorfu, Minister Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office, H.E.  Maimounata Ouattara,  Ambassador of Burkina Faso Embassy,  H.E. Magdi Ahmed Mofadal Elnour, Ambassador of Sudan Embassy,  H.E. Naomi Hamza Aziz, Ambassador of  Tanzania Embassy, H.E. Dr. Dog on-Daji Haliru Bellow, Ambassador of Embassy of Nigeria, Michael Trestl, CCO of Austrian Airlines, and Mag.  Martin Woller, Regional Director Africa WKO. Presenter Ina Sabitzer skillfully guided the audience through the evening. The classical Schönbrunn Orchestra and the Burkinian musician and composer Mamadou Diabate playing his balafon ensured an enjoyable evening of musical entertainment. The evening was ended with a performance by the Assane Band from Senegal. Regional Director of Ethiopian Airlines for Austria and Easter Europe, Saba Gebremedhin Kassaye awarded partners including Vienna Airport during the event acknowledging and appreciating support for the past 10 years. She mentioned the importance of cooperation during her speech marking the strong support received from Vienna International Airport.

10 years of Ethiopian Airlines at Vienna Airport
Ethiopian Airlines started connecting Vienna Airport with Addis Ababa four times a week. The airline now operates daily flights to Vienna. Vienna Airport is an important hub in Ethiopian Airlines' route network. The airline already has more than one million passengers on the route to and from Vienna. In addition to connecting Addis Ababa and Vienna, Ethiopian airlines is also serving direct operation between Vienna and Copenhagen, Denmark to enhance better connectivity and convenient travel experience to our esteemed passengers.

Ethiopian Airlines: Africa’s biggest airline
Ethiopian Airlines is one of Africa´s most important and fastest-growing airlines. In its seventy-eight years of successful operations, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers. Ethiopian commands the lion’s share of the African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 150 domestic and international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents. Ethiopian Airlines is a multiple award-winning airline which has shown an average 25% annual growth in the last ten years. And is has already been given the Skytrax World Airline Award for “Best Airline Staff” twice. Having achieved its Vision 2025 strategic plan ahead of schedule, Ethiopian Airlines has drawn up a strategic roadmap called Vision 2035 to drive further growth.
 
Captions (Credits: Flughafen Wien AG):
Picture 1: At the anniversary arrival at Viena Airport: Tekle Gebreyohannes, Managing Director International services of Ethiopian Airlines Group (2nd from left), Saba Gebremedhin Kassaye, Regional Director Austria and Eastern Europe of Ethiopian Airlines (3rd from left) und Mag. Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport (1st from right)

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