Ethiopian Airlines, the national carrier, will open six new international destinations in the coming months, Lemma Yadecha, the company's group chief commercial officer, told local media.
A flight to Madrid, the Spanish capital, will be launched in the coming days, while flights to Sierra Leone, Australia, Vietnam, the Netherlands and North Africa will be unveiled in the coming months, the officer said.
He added that the new flights will bring the airline's international destinations to 142, and the number is growing rapidly with the acquisition of new aircraft and the expansion of services.
By Vision 2035, Ethiopian Airlines has set a goal of expanding the number of destinations to 207 and the number of airplanes to 271, which will see it become one of the 20 most competitive and leading aviation groups in the world.
Realizing the goal, last week the airline announced the purchase of 11 Airbus A350-900s for short-haul to ultra-long-haul flights, bringing its total A350 fleet to 33 aircraft. The company added that it has an option to acquire six more aircraft under the terms of the memorandum.
Ethiopian has also agreed to purchase 20 737-8 narrow-body aircraft and 11 787-9 Dreamliner jets from Boeing, with an option to expand the order to 36 aircraft, in what has been called "the largest-ever purchase of Boeing airplanes in African history."