Passengers flying from Ethiopia to the USA will soon be able to fly directly to Denver International Airport (DIA) on Ethiopian Airlines. This comes after Denver Mayor Michael Hancock met with Addis Ababa Mayor to discuss plans to add this route.
The city has been eyeing direct flights from Denver to Africa for years. Hancock said that city officials studied the top 15 markets in Africa for DIA passenger travel and found Addis Ababa as the top target for Denver demand and Cairo as the second target. This means that EgyptAir could also add a direct flight from Cairo International Airport to Denver in the near future.
Denver Airport, one of the world's biggest and busiest airports, would provide a significant economic boost to the two airlines as they would be the first African airlines to connect DIA to the continent. Hancock said to the media;
"The teams have been working behind the scenes, studying data, making analysis, having conversations with the airlines showing about route conferences, trying to establish and to make very clear that we are interested in having a direct connect, we had very fruitful conversations; I walked away from the kindness of Africa very, very energized and optimistic."
The economic impact of Denver flights
Ethiopian Airlines is already increasing its destinations in the US from four to five, with the addition of a route to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport starting in May.
Adding a route to the world's second-largest airport would be highly profitable for both Star Alliance members, but it is not as simple as just commencing flights to Colorado. Landing these flights means millions of dollars for all parties, but Mayor Hancock has a "huge ask" for the airlines. He said;
“What we're asking Ethiopian Airlines, and ultimately Egyptian Airlines, to do is to commit a $200 million asset to our city, and the moment they commit that to us, they can't move it anywhere else, so this is not a small ask, this is a huge ask."
According to the Mayor and other city officials, past additions of Intercontinental flights from Denver have resulted in significant economic success. Direct flights from DIA to Tokyo carry an annual economic impact of $130 million, Munich flights have an $80 million annual economic impact, and the Denver-Panama flight has an annual impact of $26 million.
Mayor Hancock took the trip to Ethiopia with his delegation, including Mowa Haile, President of Denver's Sky Blue Builders, originally from Eritrea. Denver's Mayor met with the Mayor of Addis Ababa in a televised meeting. After seeing the two on television, Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, asked to meet Hancock.
Check out more African aviation news here
A partnership among three major continental hubs
Denver International Airport is the third-busiest airport in the world, setting its all-time passenger record of nearly 70 million passengers last year. It is also the world's second-largest airport and by far one of the most attractive. It is the main hub for United Airlines and Frontier. With plans to spend $8 million on four art installations, the airport will continue to attract numerous passengers and non-traveling visitors.
As of 2022, Cairo International Airport was Africa's busiest, while Addis Ababa Bole International Airport was fifth. The two are also among Africa's largest airports, so the partnership with Denver could open a new chapter for African Aviation.
Talking about the partnership, Mowa Haile said, "Economically, it opens up Africa to Denver and Colorado. Ethiopia's capital is the anchor of Africa; you can fly to Addis Ababa and fly anywhere in the continent." She added that she knows the investment is a significant number, but in the long term, there will be a significant return, just like the other flights have had.
Overall, the Denver delegation's trip was successful with regard to their plans. The trip cost them a total of $100,000, and when asked if the money was worth it, Hancock answered, "without question." He noted that DIA did not become the world's third-busiest airport and a hub to two major airlines by sitting on its laurels and being proud of looking good. He added, "you must leverage that airport to connect throughout the world, and that's what we've been very intentional to do."
Source: CBS News
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!