By Victor Shalton
Ethiopian Cargo Launches New Trans-Pacific Routes
Effective Nov. 9, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, the largest cargo network operator in Africa, began Trans-Pacific routes that extends from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport in South Korea to Atlanta, United States via Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.
Ethiopian, offerings remarkable freight services worldwide with reduced flight hours, seamless connectivity and enhanced payloads. Ethiopian begins its new route operating one of the most technologically advanced aircraft, the Boeing 777-200F freighters, on the route.
Ethiopian Airlines has been working around the clock in the global effort to conquer COVID-19 by facilitating the shipment of life-saving medical supplies to various parts of the world.
The airline’s main hub houses the largest trans-shipment terminal in Africa, the state-of-the-art Pharma Wing, which includes a temperature-controlled pharmaceutical handling and storage facility as well as dedicated cool dollies. Pharma Wing is best equipped for transportation of pharmaceuticals and has been the central pillar of Ethiopian’s effective handling and shipping of medical supplies across the world.
Furthermore, Ethiopian announced it is fully ready to aid in the distribution of a potential COVID-19 vaccine during the coming global distribution, which may launch by the end of 2020.
Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services is also equipped to transport perishables, garments, mining products, and high-value industrial products and inputs among others across its global network.
This year, Ethiopian Airlines Group, which owns the cargo arm, won the ‘Overall Excellence for Outstanding Crisis Leadership 2020 Award’ from Global Finance magazine. The award recognizes companies that went above and beyond in responding to the global pandemic crisis and in assisting their customers, protecting their employees and providing critical support to the society at large. Ethiopian was recognized for its integral role in transporting much-needed medical supplies around the world.
Ethiopian Group CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said, “We are glad to have won the ‘Overall Excellence for Outstanding Crisis Leadership 2020 Award’ which recognizes our distinct capabilities of successful management of multiple crises taking place simultaneously like a perfect storm.”
“During the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in panic, fear and hopelessness in the industry, we have demonstrated resilience, agility and speed of decision making and special competency in fast redeployment of organizational resources to our Cargo division to airlift life-saving COVID-19 PPE and medical supplies,” GebreMariam continued. “We have reconfigured 25 passenger airplanes for cargo only flights and we also availed the remaining passenger airplanes for repatriation of stranded people to connect with their loved ones back home.
“As a socially responsible airline, we stood in solidarity with the world during the unprecedented crisis and served communities around the globe to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. We are ready to repeat the remarkable and globally recognized success in leading the fast delivery of life-saving PPEs with similar delivery speed and professional handling during the forthcoming global distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine,” said the CEO.
He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration at DeKUT and aspiring to make a career in a more aviation-related course.