By Ebi Kesiena
Africa’s largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, says it is losing about $137 million every week as the escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran disrupts aviation operations across the Middle East.
The airline disclosed that it has been forced to suspend flights to 10 destinations in the Middle East and Gulf region, as the war entered its eighth day on Saturday, significantly affecting passenger and cargo operations.
Lemma Yadhecha, the airline’s business manager, told local media that the disruption has led to the cancellation of up to 15 passenger flights daily, amounting to over 100 flights every week.
According to him, the affected routes previously operated multiple daily services, with some destinations receiving as many as three flights per day before the conflict began.
“The airline has cancelled more than 100 flights weekly, and some of these destinations previously had up to three flights daily. This has resulted in losses of about $137 million within a week,” Yadhecha said.
He added that cargo services have also been severely affected, bringing the total number of cancelled passenger and cargo flights to more than 160 per week.
Before the crisis, Ethiopian Airlines transported between 40,000 and 50,000 passengers weekly to destinations across the Middle East, making the region one of its busiest international markets.
In response to the disruption, the airline has begun redeploying aircraft previously assigned to Middle East routes to other international destinations in an effort to minimise financial losses and maintain operational efficiency.
However, Yadhecha warned that the broader aviation industry could face deeper challenges if the conflict persists, particularly due to the expected surge in global oil prices, which could significantly raise operational costs for airlines.
The hostilities began last Saturday when the United States and Israel launched coordinated air strikes on Iranian targets, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Iran across parts of the Gulf region.
The military campaign, reportedly codenamed Operation Epic Fury, has already incurred massive costs. Estimates released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicate that the first 100 hours of the operation cost about $3.7 billion, averaging $891 million per day, with most of the expenditure reportedly unbudgeted.
Reports from the conflict zone indicate that more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in Iran, including over 165 children, while casualties have also been recorded among military personnel and civilians in other parts of the region.
