Ethiopia Opened Airspace in Tigray

Airspace now open for international and local flights but not all airports in Tigray region of Ethiopia are in good shape  

Borkena

December 14, 2020 

Ethiopia on Monday announced that the airspace in the Tigray region of the country is now open for international and local flights. 

Ethiopia’s Civil Aviation Authority decision came a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited Mekelle where he met with commanders of the Ethiopian Defense Force and Tigray region provisional administration. 

The airspace is open for fights starting December 14 2:00 p.m local time, the authority announced. 

Airports in the Tigray region that are capable of starting service will be open for business. Aksum Airport, which is said to have cost 500,000 million Ethiopian birr, was destroyed during the war between Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Ethiopian Defense Force. According to Ethiopian State media report, TPLF forces deliberately damaged Aksum Airport as part of scorched earth policy after they lost the battle for Aksum city — one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia. 

The airspace was closed after the outbreak of the war on November 4. It was started after the TPLF forces attacked several bases of the northern command in what the party said was a preemptive strike against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. 

Ethiopian Defense Force completed what the government called law enforcement operation in a matter of two weeks taking control of the political center in the region — Mekelle. 

Apart from airspace closure, there has been power and communication blackout in the region for over three years. Banks were closed too. Services have  been restored by this past weekend as part of the normalization effort in the region.