Ethiopian Airlines Wins Cargo Airline Award for Network Development
African’s largest cargo operator, Ethiopian Airlines, has won the ‘Cargo Airline Award for Network Development’ at the 10th anniversary of the Brussels Airport Aviation Awards. The Network Development Awards are presented to airlines that have developed new routes or achieved a remarkable growth in passengers or cargo.
A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Hanna Atnafu, the Corporate Communications Manager, Ethiopian Airlines, said the ‘Network Development Award Cargo Airline’ was awarded to Ethiopian Cargo in recognition of its commitment to rapidly expand its cargo network and become the largest cargo airline at Brussels Airport in just six months.
Mr Tewolde Gebre Mariam, the Ethiopian Group CEO, said: “We are very pleased to be the winner of such a prestigious award.The award boosts our energy to serve our customers’ air cargo needs better.”
He said Ethiopian Cargo Services connects African economies with the rest of the world in importation and exportation of industrial goods and commodities which were both the engine of the socio-economic development in the globalised world.
Mr GebreMariam said the six new and modern B-777F and two B-757F cargo airplanes complemented by the vast network of belly hold capacity on their passenger wide body airplanes made Ethiopian Cargo the largest cargo airline in Africa currently.
“We are grateful to our dedicated cargo team, our Global cargo customers and particularly to our Belgian partners, who have made our cargo hub in Europe a resounding success,” he said.
He said with the inauguration of the largest and the most modern cargo terminal in Africa, with annual cargo capacity of 600 thousand tonnes, the Airline would transform Addis Ababa as one of the best cargo hubs in the air cargo industry.
The Group CEO said: “With their six Boeing 777- 200LRF freighters and two Boeing 757-260 freighters, the Airline serves 36 cargo destinations in Africa, the Gulf, the Middle East, Asia and Europe with an average daily uplift of 650 tonnes on top of the belly hold capacity to over 90 destinations in our network with daily average uplift of 150 tonnes.”
In line with the Vision 2025, Ethiopian Cargo is building one of the largest and most modern cargo terminals in the world with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes and planning to serve 47 destinations using 18 freighter aircraft.
Ethiopian Cargo is also automating its entire cargo business process with one of the best cargo IT systems (SITA Champ Cargo Spot) with the aim of providing the most efficient air cargo services within, to and from Africa.
Source: GNA