“With the addition of these stations, Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline group would have increased its service from Addis Ababa to 98 different international cities located across the world,” Mrs Atnafu stated in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday.

Ethiopian Airlines envisages reaching 120 international destinations worldwide by the year 2025. According to the statement, Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines said: “Africa’s share of the Global Aviation is the smallest which is only around three per cent and as the largest airline group in the continent.

 “We are highly concerned on the low base of air connectivity in the continent and we are setting record expansion to enable Africans enjoy safe, reliable and economical air connectivity both within the continent and between the continent and the rest of the world.”

He said looking beyond the current economic slowdown especially in the oil export dependent economies of Africa, the Airlines firmly believed that the continent would become the magnet for foreign direct investment, trade and tourism, which were the engines of air travel growth and in turn efficient air connectivity also drives socio economic development.

He said in 2016, new flights to Moroni (Comoros), WindHoek (Namibia) and Newark (United States) were launched, as well as three cities in Ethiopia:  Hawassa, Kebridahar and Dembidolo.