Ethiopian Aviation Academy recognised as IATA Authorised Training Centre.

Tuesday 9th September 2014

Ethiopian Airlines announces today that the Ethiopian Aviation Academy, the largest aviation academy in Africa has been recognised as an International Air Transport Association (IATA) Authorised Training Centre. The Academy attained the recognition following the evaluation of its successful application by the IATA Training and Development Institute and the IATA Regional Office. This authorisation will enable Ethiopian Aviation Academy to deliver additional training programmes including IATA's International Travel and Tourism Training Programme and the Foundation in Travel and Tourism.

Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group comments: "The Academy is the foundation of our success by enabling us to be self-sufficient in critical areas of aviation and by supporting our Vision 2025 for a fast, profitable and sustainable growth strategy. This recognition is the result of the continuous heavy investment we are making in human resource development, a critical pillar of our Vision 2025 strategy. In the last four years alone, we have invested more than US$80 million to expand both the scope of the training and the in-take capacity of the Academy. Today, our Academy accepts over 1,000 students per year to train pilots, aircraft technicians, cabin crew, marketing and finance personnel, customer service agents as well as aviation leaders. Going forward, we plan to increase this in-take capacity to 4,000 by 2025, so as to cater for the growing training need on the African continent."

This news follows the announcement in May that Ethiopian Aviation Academy was voted "Airline Training Services Provider of the Year" by The African Airlines Association (AFRAA). The Academy is certified by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, the U.S Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency, and IOSA (IATA Safety Audit).

About Ethiopian Airlines:

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing airline in Africa. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has become one of the continent's leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 81 international destinations across five continents including 49 destinations in Africa. Ethiopian's fleet of 67 aircraft includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR Freighter and Bombardier Q-400 with double cabin. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centres: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

www.ethiopianairlines.com