Ethiopian Airlines, the national air carrier, announced the resumption of its flights to Athens, Greece, effective December 13, 2019, after 18 years. Athens marks Ethiopian's 20th destination in Europe. The ultra-modern B787 Dreamliner will operate the thrice-weekly flight to Athens. "With our direct flight, Greece will be closer to Africa than ever before and to the rest of our global network," said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. The resumption of the service to Athens will help meet the exponential demand from global tourists, as well as provide them with more connectivity options within Ethiopia's extensive global network, the airline stated. Ethiopian Airlines' profit increased by 19pc to 232 million dollars in the 2017/18 fiscal year, and the airline transported 340,000tn through its cargo services. Ethiopian Airlines has more than 100 international destinations, 19 domestic routes and 39 freighters.