Sudden! Eritrea announced the suspension of all Ethiopian flights. Ethiopian coffee exports are facing serious problems

According to Ethiopian local media reports, Ethiopia's neighbor Eritrea announced on July 24 that all Ethiopian Airlines flights to and from the bottom of Eritrea would be suspended from the end of September. It is understood that a letter to the Ethiopian Airlines Regional Manager said: "Please note that all Ethiopian Airlines flights to the bottom of Eritrea will be suspended from September 30, 2024."

It was also signed by the Director General of the Eritrean Ministry of Transport, Communications and Civil Aviation, and there was a public statement stating that Ethiopian Airlines had been grounded on suspicion of "malicious" business practices, including baggage theft, damage, prolonged delays and unreasonable price increases.

According to the Government of Eritrea, it has repeatedly and tirelessly called on Ethiopian Airlines to solve these problems, but it has not yet achieved results. It is also recommended that all Ethiopian Airlines passengers heading for Eritrea adjust their flights and then choose other ways to go.

Ethiopian Airlines said it had received notification from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Government of Eritrea, but the specific reasons had not been disclosed, was seeking clarification from the Government of Eritrea and said it would resolve any issues amicably and expeditiously.

Before that, Ethiopian Airlines had 10 flights a week to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, and the Eritrean government is said to have recently asked Ethiopian Airlines to increase the number of flights per week from 10 to 15, until it was recently announced that all flights would be suspended in September.

In fact, Eritrea was originally part of Ethiopia, but Eritrea declared its independence on 24 May 1993 through a full referendum. After that, the two sides went to war over the border issue from 1998 to 2000, and it was not until 2018 that the hostile relations ended and the border crossings were reopened. However, Ethiopia has since become a landlocked country and lost its port, which has put tremendous economic pressure on Ethiopia, which is dependent on import and export trade.

At the same time, however, there are reports that the incident may be related to Somalia, another neighboring country of Ethiopia. According to reports, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the leaders of the local government of Somaliland in northern Somalia to obtain the right to use the Somaliland port and the need to recognize Somaliland as an independent state. however, the agreement has not been fully finalized, so Ethiopia has not yet received the right to use the port.

However, Somalia has always accused Ethiopia of violating its national sovereignty by signing the memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, and the Ethiopian government has avoided commenting on the signing of the memorandum of understanding. However, since Ethiopia signed the memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, the Somali government has established close relations with Eritrea, and the Somali Defense Minister has visited Eritrea three times this year.

As a result, there are not only ongoing conflicts and wars within Ethiopia, but also deteriorating relations with neighboring Eritrea and Somalia. Even though the Ethiopian government has recently cooperated with the United Arab Emirates to strengthen bilateral trade, the export problem is still serious, which has dealt a severe blow to Ethiopia's import and export business such as tourism and coffee.

Ethiopia's exports rely only on the port of Djibouti, but recently, affected by the Red Sea crisis, there has been a significant reduction in the number of ships. MSC, which accounts for 80 per cent of the port of Djibouti, has also announced the suspension of operations in the port of Djibouti, and there have been reports of a serious accumulation of goods such as Ethiopian coffee in the port of Djibouti. Relations between Eritrea and Somalia and Ethiopia are strained, ports cannot be used, and other Kenyan ports are a long way off. Therefore, the export of Ethiopian coffee and other goods will be seriously hindered, which is not conducive to the development of Ethiopian coffee industry.