EE Impact

Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopia · Air Transportation

LeaveRussia detail: Scaling Back

Scaling back

Ethiopian Airlines, formerly Ethiopian Air Lines, is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to international flights in 1951.

Status last verified 03/08/2026Source checked 07/08/2025Company website ↗LeaveRussia profile ↗

Decision trail

Decision date 03/08/2025 · Reference ↗

As Western sanctions continue to isolate Russia’s aviation sector, Moscow is turning its attention to Africa, particularly Ethiopian Airlines, as a potential partner to support its limited fleet operations. In late July, Russia’s trade commissioner to Ethiopia, Yaroslav Tarasyuk, held talks with the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA), offering a broad package of cooperation that includes the lease of aircraft with crew from Ethiopian Airlines. The discussions also covered the possible supply of aviation communications and surveillance equipment to Russia, as well as the construction of an aircraft maintenance center in Addis Ababa. An attempt by Russian authorities to negotiate with Ethiopia on leasing civilian aircraft to supplement the gradually failing fleet of domestic carriers has ended in failure. The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) has refused the Russian delegation that flew to Abbey for talks in late July 2025.

Status history since 2022

  1. 03/08/2026 scaling back · Imported from KSE LeaveRussia

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