Malawi Airlines and its managing partner, Ethiopian Airlines have decided to further extend their services to the African continent. Both the airlines announced in a press conference that starting from the 1st of November 2014, they will provide services to the three southern African countries of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Ethiopian Airlines announced that the flights will be such that it will connect all these three destinations.
In addition to this, the flight schedules revealed that this new route will connect areas such as Lilongwe which is situated in Malawi. Other destinations which will also be assisted with the opening of this new route include Tete which is located in Mozambique. This route to Tete will be via Harare in Zimbabwe. The airlines also stated that this route will be catered to at least 3 times per week.
Ethiopian Airlines, which is one of the largest and well known African carriers, for now, partnered with Malawi Airlines on 13th July 2013 by holding 49% shares, while the remaining 51% shares still remain under the ownership of Malawi Airlines. This partnership was formed after the collapse of the state-owned Air Malawi. The aims of both these airlines were to set up multiple hubs in Africa.
With the new arrangements being settled, Ethiopian Airlines now handles the day to day operations and is set on expanding its horizons further into the African continent. The Malawian government announced that 31% of the airline’s shares will be sold to private investors within one year.
Two weekly flights to Nampula and three to Tete have been announced already. The Malawi Airline is now among the 16 other carriers which land at the Harare International Airport. While airlines such as the Royal Dutch Airline and KLM had recently pulled out of using Harare International Airport due to liability reasons.
More than 48 airlines were using this airport as their hub during 1999. However many airlines have been reported to have pulled out mainly due to political and economic reasons of the country.
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