AGENTS say Ethiopia's
flourishing hub in Addis
Ababa may suffer a
setback after the recent unrest
in the country.
The Ethiopian government
declared a six-month
nationwide state of emergency
on October 8, following months
of anti-government protests.
If travellers haven’t yet
bought tickets on Ethiopian
Airlines they might avoid the
destination, says Madeleine
de Wet of Sure Travel George.
She says one of her clients
recently opted to spend
R2 000 more on a ticket with
another airline to avoid flying
via Ethiopia. She says she
would rather not risk selling
Ethiopian Airlines for fear of
putting her clients in danger.
Madeleine, however, believes
that travellers who have
already purchased tickets will
risk travel should it prove too
expensive to change the ticket.
Another agent says travellers
are likely to become nervous
when their connecting flight
requires them to stay overnight
in Addis Ababa.
But travellers familiar with
the country’s geography and
the affected areas seem less
likely to be deterred.
Denise Cumming of Harvey
World Travel Shelly Beach,
says she has a client about
to travel to Ethiopia. “He’s not
concerned about travelling
because he’s staying in the
city and won’t be near the
affected areas.”
Industry experts believe the
impact on travel will be less
than that experienced by some
other African destinations,
for example the impact that
terrorism has had on travel to
Kenya. “This is because the
problems aren’t really in the
central parts of Addis Ababa,”
says Stephen Jordan, ceo of
Access to Africa.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
says the state of emergency
could result in a number of
different restrictions, including
curfews, random arrests,
searches, and blocking of the
Internet.
However, Ethiopian Airlines
says so far no curfews have
been imposed and the Internet
is still available. “Travel to
Ethiopia and beyond is very
safe,” says Minale Shewa,
ET manager airport services
Johannesburg.
Minale says the short-term
proclamation has only been
put in place to align and
co-ordinate federal security
agencies and law enforcement
organisations within the
country.
“All Ethiopian Airlines’
domestic and international
flights, including those flights
operated by other airlines, are
safely and securely operating
as per the schedule.”
