In a major boost to connectivity between United Kingdom and Africa, Ethiopian Airlines has added London Gatwick as its third service to the UK, with thrice weekly flights from Addis Ababa to Gatwick.

Africa’s largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines, has begun a third flight to the United Kingdom as the inaugural flight from Addis Ababa landed in London Gatwick airport on November 21.

In a press statement, the airline says that it will fly to Gatwick thrice a week, with flight ET718 leaving Addis Ababa at 00:15 every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, reaching Gatwick at 05:15. On the return leg, the flight ET719 will leave Gatwick at 10:10 the same day and land at Addis Ababa at 20:40 the same day.

“We have a 50-year relation with UK. We give high regards to our Heathrow services and now we are excited to add Gatwick to our vast global network. We are ready to stretch our reach to Gatwick and provide our renowned, award-winning services. History has it that we last served Gatwick in 2005 and 2006 using the Boeing 757. Now the route will be served by the most modern Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Over the years, we have established commendable partnerships with over 100 UK based companies in the aviation sector. Our expansion in the UK, among others, will enable us to nurture this cooperation and partnership to a higher level,” says Mesfin Tasew, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines Group.

The airline adds that its new service will offer a direct flight between London-Gatwick and Addis Ababa onboard Airbus A350 with Business Class and Economy cabins, providing seamless connectivity to Ethiopian Airlines’ vast global networks stretched across Africa, Far East, the Americas and Asia.

“The UK is a strong and important market for Ethiopian. Adding London-Gatwick to our UK schedule is truly great news as it will enable us to provide much-needed capacity not only for our passengers but also for our cargo services carried in the belly hold. Ethiopian will now serve London Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester Airports,” says Henock Woubishet, Area Manager UK & Ireland, Ethiopian Airlines.

“We are delighted to welcome Ethiopian Airlines back to London Gatwick this winter. As the largest carrier in Africa, this is an excellent addition to our network and adds a valuable, direct connection to Eastern Africa. Ethiopian Airlines is the latest in a number of carriers looking to operate long-haul routes from Gatwick, which further highlights the strong demand for slots at our airport. It’s also fantastic news for passengers across London and the South East to have more choice and direct services to Addis Ababa, as well as greater opportunities for onward connections across Africa, Asia and the Middle East,” says Stephanie Wear, VP Aviation Development, London Gatwick.

Ethiopian Airlines says that the newservice will complement the airlines daily non-stop A350 flights from T2 London Heathrow and 5 times weekly A350 service from T2 Manchester to Addis Ababa. It says that these flights will offer connections to more than 60 African destinations across East, South, Central and West Africa and connections to the Far East & Asia.