Eritrea freezes Ethiopian Airlines bank account

Ethiopian Airlines revealed details of the dispute with Eritrea's civil aviation and explained why flights to Asmara had to be suspended.

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Toronto – Ethiopian Airlines flights to Asmara, which resumed in July 2018 after two decades of rapprochement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, are tragically suspended again.

Mesfin Tassew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, explained the reasons for the suspension of flights to journalists in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

He stated that Ethiopian Airlines received a letter of complaint from the Civil Aviation Authority of Eritrea on March 26, 2024, alleging that “aircraft were not meeting Eritrean passengers” and a request to compensate them – apparently financially.

The CEO also noted that the March 26 letter indicated that Eritrea's Civil Aviation Authority had reduced Ethiopia's 14 flights to Asmara (twice a day) to 10 and that the airline had also been instructed to use narrow-body aircraft, he added.

“We did not ignore it. We reacted to it immediately,” said Mesfin Tassew. The airlines responded, according to the CEO, by receiving lists of passengers with their delayed or lost baggage tags. This was to get the compensation they demanded. But the list did not arrive, he noted. He also said that the airline tried to initiate a meeting with Eritrean civil aviation, but this was unsuccessful.

Since then, he added, Ethiopian Airlines has carried only 100 passengers on a 160-passenger capacity aircraft just to avoid lawsuits over delays and lost baggage.

The CEO also explained that it is not uncommon for baggage to be delayed and that this happens to other travelers as well, not just Eritrean passengers.

On July 8, 2024, Ethiopian Airlines received another letter from Eritrea Civil Aviation – this time with compliments and the information that the number of flights had been increased to 15 and that wide-body aircraft could be used. “We were happy,” said Mesfin.

But that didn't last. On July 21, Ethiopian Airlines received another letter, which the CEO described as “sudden and shocking.” The airline was informed that it would not be able to fly to Eritrea after September 30, but no explanation was given as to why this decision was made.

Attempts to contact the Civil Aviation Authority of Eritrea were unsuccessful, the CEO said. He sent three letters requesting a meeting to discuss the matter with the authority, but received no response. Communication was also initiated through the Civil Aviation Authority of Ethiopia. Phone calls remained unanswered. Letters remained unanswered, the CEO revealed. The attempt was to find out if there was another problem and to resolve it, as was the case with the baggage issue.

Blocking of bank accounts

On July 25, 2024, another development was reported regarding Ethiopian Airlines' bank account in Eritrea. The bank, whose name is not disclosed, informed the airline's representative in Asamara that it could deposit cash from the sales, but the money could not be transferred to Ethiopia.

The account was “frozen.” The airline received a copy of the bank's decision. The CEO said the airline contacted the bank to find out why the account was frozen without a court order. It turned out that the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority had written to the bank requesting that the measure be taken. According to Mesfin Tassew, the bank also advised Ethiopian Airlines to resolve the matter with the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority. However, this did not happen.

The request to release the approved funds and the request for a meeting with the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority were ignored.

On August 31, 2024, an Ethiopian Airlines employee in Asmara attempted to deposit cash from Sales, but was informed that the account was permanently “blocked.” According to the CEO, this made it difficult to pay for services to the Eritrean government and also to Ethiopian Airlines employees in Asmara. “We could not work under these conditions,” the CEO said, and flights were suspended as of September 3, 2024.

Passengers who had booked a flight had the option to book a connecting flight with another airline or receive a full refund of their booking.

The Eritrean government has not yet responded to Ethiopian Airlines' statements regarding the incidents that led to the airline's decision to cease flight operations on September 3.

Conversations on social media platforms suggest that the blocking of Ethiopian Airlines’ bank account has angered a significant number of Ethiopians.

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