Ethiopian Airlines met with a delegation from Denver, Colorado led by Michael B. Hancock, Mayor of the City and County of Denver.
The delegation included the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff of the City and County of Denver, the CEO and Executives of Denver International Airport, the President and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and other delegates.
The team visited Ethiopian’s state-of-the-art facility and held beneficial discussions with Ethiopian Airlines Group’s Chairman of the Board Mr. Girma Wake, Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew, and members of Ethiopian’s executive management.
During the meeting, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew said, «We are excited to welcome the high-level delegation from Denver, Colorado to the Ethiopian Airlines headquarters.»
«The city of Denver is another potential market in the United States for our Airline. We will be delighted to add the city to our global network in the near future after making all the necessary plans and preparations,» Tasew added.
According to data obtained through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2017 around 305,800 Ethiopians resided in the U.S., the main communities are in the states of California, Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Texas and Colorado, the latter having 8% of Ethiopian residents in the United States.
Meetings with the delegation discussed strengthening bilateral agreements and establishing an air link between Addis Ababa and Denver. Ethiopian Airlines currently offers service in the United States to New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Washington – Dulles (IAD), Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and soon Atlanta (ATL), and by June of this year the airline will be the main carrier between North America and Africa.
In 2022, Denver International Airport (DEN) was the third busiest airport in the United States and the main domestic hub for United, an alliance partner of Ethiopian Airlines. In recent years, DEN has increased its international offer with new routes and the arrival of new carriers, connecting Colorado to multiple destinations in Canada, Mexico, Central America, Europe, and the Caribbean.
«Today I had the pleasure of speaking with a U.S. business delegation led by the Mayor of Denver,Colorado, Michael Hancock. They discussed opportunities for U.S. investors in Ethiopia , flights between DEN (the third busiest in the U.S.) and ADD (Africa’s largest international gateway),» said Zemedeneh Negatu, Global President of Fairfax Africa Fund.
