Ethiopia Airlines has insisted on flying to China despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
This is happening in the face of dozens of airlines from around the world stopping their flights to China in fear of the epidemic.
The Ethiopian Airlines may have been informed by the fact that this is one of the most profitable route for the company.
Kenya Airways (KQ) and Rwanda Air, have already cancelled flights to Chinese cities as a measure to reduce the chances of further spreading the dangerous virus.
Ethiopian Airline Chief Executive Officer, Tewolde Gebremariam has insisted that they will continue with the flights to Chinese airports citing the profits involved.
Ethiopian Airlines has been flying to China for 47 years now (since 1973) therefore it will be immoral to stopping their flights.
The South China Morning Post reports that President Kenyatta had put pressure on the Ethiopian government (majority shareholder of Ethiopian Airlines) to suspend flights to China in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus into East African countries.
It makes sense to suspend flights considering that airlines from Asia, North America and Europe have already suspended flights to Chinese airspace.
The virus which has similar symptoms as pneumonia has already infected over 40,000 people and killed over 900 people in mainland China alone. Elsewhere in more than 20 countries around the world, the virus has been reported.
While addressing members of the Atlantic Council, he expressed his fears of coronavirus spreading into East African countries where there are weaker health systems.
Ethiopia which receives an excess of 1,500 visitors per day from mainland China will continue flying to Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
Ethiopian airlines has said that they are the last link between China and Africa. However, even if Ethiopia Airlines stop their flights to mainland China, there are other routes such as Europe, Malaysia and Singapore which would still get visitors to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is one of the African countries with many Chinese migrants involved in construction industry- dams, ports, malls, bridges and railways. Most of these projects are financed by Chinese loans and hence the Ethiopian government is extremely carefully to ensure that they do not strain the relationship between the two states.
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