How Ethiopian Airlines provided a vaccine lifeline

When Brazil had too few vaccines to cope with the deadly third wave of coronavirus, Ethiopian Airlines came to the rescue. It transported 3.5m Sinovac jabs from Shanghai to São Paulo, via specialist facilities at its hub in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in April. “I feel that our efficient and timely delivery of vaccines will save millions of lives that could have been lost,” says Tewolde Gebremariam, CE. Having overseen the expansion of Africa’s largest carrier since 2011, he has not only navigated the pandemic but led its push to transport Covid vaccines across Africa and beyond. Founded in 1945 by Emperor Haile Selassie I — its headquarters building is H-shaped in his honour — the state-owned company’s hub in Addis Ababa is one of the largest and most modern African cargo terminals, able to handle 1m tonnes a year. So far, Ethiopian Airlines has carried more than 27m vaccines to 24 countries. It has a 54,000 sq m freezer facility in Addis Ababa for Covid-19 vaccines that can keep the temperature at -25C, and is developing a facility to make enough ice to keep vaccines ultra-cold when needed. While most airlines on the continent suffered badly during the pandemic, Ethiopian Airlines has kept flying by converting many of its planes to carry cargo, including big long-range passenger aircraft. “We were very creative in removing seats from the aeroplanes,” Tewolde says. The airline, which has 132 aircraft, including 12 dedicated cargo planes, has also delivered Covid-related medical equipment to nearly every country in Africa, as well as to Latin America, after refitting 25 passenger aircraft for cargo. Tewolde says cargo was a “lifesaver” after passengers “vanished overnight”.<br/>