Ethiopia has overtaken Dubai as transit hub for long-haul passengers to Africa, highlighting the success of the state airline’s expansion drive and the reforms of its new prime minister.

Dubai, one of the world’s busiest airports, has been surpassed by Ethiopia, according to a travel consultancy called FowardKeys. In its report, ForwardKeys reveals that found the number of long-haul transfers to sub-Saharan Africa via Addis Ababa jumped by 85 percent from 2013 to 2017. Transfers via Dubai over the same period rose by 31 percent. In 2018, Addis Ababa’s growth was at 18%, compared to Dubai’s 3%.

Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam remarked, “The report by travel consultancy ForwardKeys reveals Ethiopia’s leading role in serving as the major African hub to long-haul air travel to the region, and it perfectly matches with the ambitions of our Pan-African airline which has always sought a fair share for African carriers in the continent’s air travel market.”

Ethiopian Airlines is a multi-award winning carrier crowned with Four Star certification by SKYTRAX in 2018, Airline of the Year awards by AFRAA as well as multiple accolades for its outstanding passenger and cargo transport services.Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing airline in Africa.