Ethiopia turmoil threatens unlikeliest airline success story

Ethiopia has built one of Africa’s rare corporate success stories with the continent’s only consistently profitable airline shuttling passengers from around the world through its hub in Addis Ababa. Yet just as state-owned Ethiopian Airlines starts to vie with the likes of Dubai-based Emirates, outbreaks of violence around ethnic and human-rights protests have claimed an estimated 500 lives since June, threatening to deter travelers and undermining the political stability that helped it flourish. It’s also grappling with the challenges of doing business in the region, with more than $200m in ticket payments tied up in countries including Nigeria and Angola, which the airline says is putting pressure on its liquidity. CEO Tewolde GebreMariam insists the unrest and a subsequent state of emergency imposed Oct. 8 is a “non-issue” for the airline, which links almost 70 African cities to destinations in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia. The executive is determined to push ahead with an expansion for a company that could be the last hope for a viable African aviation industry. “The reality on the ground is peaceful. It’s business as usual,” the CEO said. That remains the case still, he said by e-mail on Thursday, citing an 18% year-on-year increase in October passenger traffic. “We have not seen measurable changes.” That doesn’t mean the company is out of the woods, as many of those passengers would have likely booked tickets before the crisis escalated and Western countries issued travel warnings. The bigger test will ultimately come if security measures are lifted as planned in April. Ethiopian’s ability to weather the crisis and continue with its ambitious plans is critical for the continent’s aviation sector after corruption and missteps undermined peers. African airlines now account for about 20% of air traffic to and from the continent, down from 60% three decades ago, according to Tewolde.<br/>