Under its ambitious Vision 2035 and newly unveiled Vision 2040 strategic roadmaps, Ethiopian Airlines is set to nearly triple its annual passenger numbers to between 60 and 67 million.
According to Birrmetrics, Group chief executive Mesfin Tasew Bekele said the airline currently operates a fleet of more than 150 modern aircraft, carrying over 20 million passengers a year across an expanding global network. The carrier serves 145 international and 23 domestic destinations, consolidating its position as Africa’s largest airline by reach.
The growth blueprint signals a sharp scale-up. By 2040, the airline plans to increase its fleet to 350 aircraft and expand its destinations to 243. Cargo capacity is also set to rise from 850,000 tonnes annually to 1.2 million tonnes, reflecting a deeper push into global logistics alongside passenger growth. Revenue is projected to reach 30 billion US dollars annually under the plan, a figure that would place the airline among the world’s top aviation groups by scale.
Speaking ahead of the airline’s 80th anniversary celebrations, Mesfin traced the carrier’s origins to its first flight from Addis Ababa to Cairo eight decades ago, a route that marked the beginning of its commercial operations. By the 1950s, the airline had established Africa’s first aviation training centre, helping to build technical capacity on the continent. Over time, it expanded across five continents, connecting 145 global destinations, with a fleet that now includes large-capacity Boeing aircraft supporting both passenger and cargo services.
The group has also broadened beyond core airline operations. About nine years ago, it set up a dedicated airports enterprise to support infrastructure expansion, part of a wider shift towards an integrated aviation group model encompassing multiple business units. Mesfin said the airline plans to add 117 new aircraft over the next seven years, signalling continued investment in fleet modernisation and capacity growth. A series of events is planned over the coming six weeks to mark the anniversary, as the airline positions itself for its next phase of expansion in an increasingly competitive global aviation market.
