The management of Ethiopian Airlines has assured passengers in the north and southern part of Nigeria that it would return to Enugu and Kano Airports once the new terminals are officially declared open for operations, just as the airline marks 75 years of operation.

Ethiopian Airlines on April 6, operated a Special Flight to Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) as part of the gradual process of reopening the Airport.

This was made known in a statement signed by the General Manager, Ethiopian Airlines, Nigeria, Shimeles Arage.

Ethiopian Airlines is the only international airline that operates to Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu since it was gazetted as an international airport. It is also one of the Airlines that operate into MAKIA in Kano.

With the completion of the new airport terminals and further improvements in COVID-19 situation in Nigeria the federal government has announced a phased reopening of Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt airports for international flights .

With this, Ethiopian Airlines will soon announce Schedules for Flight Operations to Enugu and Kano.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Airline Group, the largest Pan-African aviation group, celebrated its 75th anniversary on April 8, 2021.

Ethiopian made its maiden international flight on April 8, 1946 to Cairo. Since then, the Airline overcame the ups and downs of the aviation industry and the challenges unique to Africa to become Africa's largest, most profitable and award-winning Aviation Group. Ethiopian kicks off a yearlong celebration under the theme "Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence".

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said, "As we celebrate 75 years of excellence, we take stock of our accomplishments over three quarters of a century. Among the many firsts introduced by Ethiopian are the first Jet aircraft in Africa, the first East Africa to West Africa scheduled flight, the first airline from the Western Hemisphere to fly to China, the first scheduled service between the capitals of the most populous nations in the world (from New Delhi to Beijing), the first airline in Africa to introduce the B767, B777-200LR, B787 (the Dreamliner) and later on the A350 to Africa.

"Today, our industry faces a serious challenge posed by COVID-19. The route we chose to overcome this challenge is to tighten our belt, change the way we do business and be agile.

"We remain the only commercial airline that hasn't sought government bailout and didn't lay off a single employee. I would like to take this opportunity to cement our commitment to sustainable aviation and continue to work with all stakeholders to enhance Africa's air connectivity.

"While congratulating all Ethiopian families, I would like to thank our esteemed customers for their strong vote of confidence, their loyalty and support. Ethiopian attributed its success to the four pillars of its growth strategy.

"These pillars are human resource development, modern fleet, infrastructure development and technology. It will continue to focus on these pillars with renewed emphasis on sustainability.

"It will also continue partnering with other African airlines and governments to create a robust, competitive airline industry in Africa by sharing its technical and management expertise."