Ethiopian Airlines

History of Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines was founded on 21 December 1945 as Ethiopian Air Lines Inc., set up with the support of the American airline TWA. Its first scheduled flight, from Addis Ababa to Cairo via Asmara, operated on 8 April 1946 with a Douglas C-47, one of five ex-US government aircraft bought for the start-up.

The network grew in the late 1940s to Nairobi, Port Sudan and Bombay, with Hajj charters to Jeddah. Ethiopian went on to introduce several new aircraft types to Africa, including its first jet, the Boeing 767, the 777-200LR, the 787 Dreamliner in 2011, the A350-900 and the A350-1000.

Ethiopian joined Star Alliance on 13 December 2011 as the alliance's third member based in Africa. It is wholly owned by the Ethiopian government and now operates as Ethiopian Airlines Group, with cargo, maintenance, catering, ground services, an aviation university and hotels.

The group follows a multi-hub strategy in Africa through airlines in which it holds stakes, including ASKY in Lomé, Malawi Airlines in Lilongwe, Zambia Airways in Lusaka and Air Congo in Kinshasa.

Fleet

Aircraft types in service as of 2026

Ethiopian's fleet page lists 147 owned aircraft and 109 on order. Long-haul types include four A350-1000s, 22 A350-900s, 20 787-8s, 10 787-9s, six 777-300ERs and six 777-200LRs. Regional and domestic flying uses 23 737 MAX and 28 Dash 8-400s, and the cargo fleet includes 12 777 freighters.

Orders include 777-9s, more 787-9s, A350-900s and 44 737 MAX 8s.

Network and hubs

Ethiopian Airlines operates from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), whose terminal expansion opened in January 2019 with capacity for 25 million passengers a year. The airline serves more than 145 international passenger and cargo destinations, including more than 60 African cities, as of 2026.

Its passenger network reaches across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North and South America. Through affiliated airlines it also runs secondary hubs in Lomé, Lilongwe, Lusaka and Kinshasa, and as a Star Alliance member it connects with partner networks worldwide.