The Ethiopian Airlines group is preparing to extend its cargo flight network with a new cargo route to Casablanca.

Africa's largest air cargo network operator Ethiopian Airlines announced in a press release on Saturday that it was preparing to introduce a new cargo route to Casablanca.

"Exciting news! "Ethiopian Airlines is to launch a new cargo route to Casablanca, Morocco", said an Ethiopian media outlet, adding that it will be "the first of its kind in the Maghreb region".

The Ethiopian airline has not yet revealed the launch date of this flight to Casablanca, stressing that the economic capital of the Kingdom of Morocco will be one of the 34 destinations for the group's freight and logistics services.

This plan is part of the Ethiopian airline's efforts to expand its cargo and logistics services by opening new routes and increasing flight frequency.

"Ethiopian Airlines will continue to expand its services worldwide... to facilitate global trade and the movement of goods," said group CEO Mesfin Tasew last month. The airline has also launched its fleet expansion plan, signing agreements with Boeing and Airbus for the purchase of a total of 84 aircraft.

Ethiopian carried 723,000 tonnes of cargo in the 2022/23 financial year ended June, generating around $2 billion of the airline's total annual turnover of $6.1 billion.

 Mohamed Elkorri