Ethiopian Airlines has reported that it has successfully completed the transport of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa from Beijing on February 6th via Bole Addis Ababa Airport to N’Djamena (Chad).
Tewolde Gebremariam, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, affirmed the airline plans on playing a central role in Ethiopia’s and Africa’s fight against the pandemic as it has throughout the past year. Ethiopian’s state of the art cargo terminal, the largest in Africa, has been identified as a vital resource in the distribution of materials important in the fight.
To supplement Ethiopian’s already robust facilities, the airline finalized an agreement last December with the logistics division of Alibaba Group, Cainiao. The agreement was for the implementation of a cold chain that satisfies the needs for the transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Ethiopian’s facilities are equipped with climate chambers capable of ranging between minus 230 to 250 degrees celsius and have an annual capacity of approximately one million tons. Moreover, even the naturally cool climatic conditions of Addis Ababa make the country ideal for overtaking the continent’s vaccine efforts.
LinkUp Business, New Business Ethiopia