Ethiopian Airlines Expands Destination Network and Increases Flight Frequencies Across Africa
To execute its Vision 2040, made public in 2025, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is expanding both its international destination network and increasing flight frequencies to key growth cities, while retaining its core focus on its home continent of Africa.
Thus, Ethiopian Airlines announced that it is increasing its flight frequency to Nigeria to 53 flights per week, to improve connectivity between Africa’s 1st and 2nd most populated countries. As from the 1st of November 2026, the flight frequency to the economic center Lagos in Nigeria will be upgraded to three daily flights (ET901, ET903 & ET905). Starting 1st of December 2026, Ethiopian will schedule two daily flights (ET841 & ET843) to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Last July 2026, Ethiopian Airlines launched new flights to Mauritius and France as part of its network expansion strategy. The top African airline underlined that it is eager to offer greater travel opportunities to strengthen tourism and business between Europe and Africa, and both France and Mauritius are well-loved destinations.
In addition to Paris and Marseille, Ethiopian Airlines will now serve Lyon as well to satisfy growing demand. Paris takes the lion’s share with a flight almost every day, while Marseille has three flights weekly from Ethiopian Airlines’ base in Addis Ababa. The flight to Lyon (ET738) will be an extension of the existing link to Geneva, with three flights every week.
“We are truly delighted to connect our passengers to an additional getaway in France with our new flights to Lyon. France has been an integral part of Ethiopian Airlines’ network for decades, and throughout this time we have connected Paris and Marseille with numerous destinations across Africa through seamless links via our hub in Addis Ababa. The addition of Lyon further strengthens these long-standing ties, providing greater connectivity and more travel options for passengers traveling between France and the extensive Ethiopian Airlines network.”
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew
On 12 July 2026, Ethiopian Airlines landed its maiden flight (ET887) in Mauritius and scheduled three weekly flights. For many years, Ethiopian Airlines has been in talks with the authorities in Mauritius and the agreement finally came through. It is worth mentioning that Mauritius is hosting the 8th US-Africa Business Summit (#UABS2026) toward the end of 2026 and delegates from all over Africa are expected to converge on the island state in the Indian Ocean.
To support its expansion strategy, ET is procuring several Boeing and Airbus passenger jets as well as smaller Embraer regional jets. Ethiopia also plans to build the new #Bishoftu airport with a design capacity of 110 million passengers annually. ET’s Vision 2040 sets a target of operating 350 aircraft and carrying 60 million passengers to more than 330 destinations (290 international + 47 domestic) by 2040, up from 150 planes and 20 million passengers to 140 destinations, currently.
