Air Link To Horn Of Africa, Once Symbol Of Peace, Suspended

Ethiopian Airlines (EA) has suspended flights to and from Asmara, the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, due to “difficult operating conditions” beyond the airline’s control.

The decision was expected after the Eritrean government announced in July that the airline would no longer be allowed to fly in the country from the end of this month.

The state-owned airline, Africa’s largest, had spoken to authorities in Asmara to try to address the complaints.

It was only six years ago, after a hiatus of twenty years, that flights between the two countries were once again organised, a highly symbolic move that eased historical tensions.

EA, the only airline flying the route, said it would rebook affected passengers on other airlines at no extra cost. It would likely be a detour.

In its July statement, the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority accused EA of “malicious business practices” and listed a long list of complaints.

Eritrean authorities said they had made “incessant” appeals to EA to resolve the issues, but said these efforts had “yielded no results”.

EA acknowledged receiving notice of the suspension at the time, but said the specific reasons for the suspension had not been made public.

Many people who take one of the two daily flights from Asmara to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa travel on from there to the rest of Africa, Europe and North America.

Several travellers to Eritrea told the BBC they were surprised by the sudden suspension and were concerned about rising tensions between the two countries.

When the air link was restored in 2018, there were celebrations.

Twenty years earlier, Ethiopia and Eritrea had fought a fierce border war, killing tens of thousands of people.

Relations thawed after Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia’s prime minister in 2018 and signed a “declaration of peace and friendship” with Eritrea.

This move earned him the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.

However, relations between the Horn of Africa neighbors have deteriorated again following the end of a two-year civil war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which borders Eritrea.

Asmara was an ally of the Ethiopian government but was lukewarm on the deal that ended the conflict in November 2022.

Relations deteriorated further when Mr Abiy said last year that his country wanted access to a Red Sea port.

This led to concerns among neighboring countries with coastlines, especially Eritrea. Following the secession from Ethiopia in 1991, Ethiopia became landlocked.

With land borders closed and air connectivity between the two countries suspended, telecommunications services are the only open link between the neighbouring countries.

Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring.