Category: Breaking Travel News

Ethiopian Airlines Group, the largest network operating carrier in Africa, is pleased to announce that it will launch its new three-times-weekly direct passenger service to Port Louis, Mauritius, effective July 12, 2026.

This new route to the idyllic island nation underscores Ethiopian Airlines’ strategic commitment to deepening continental integration while driving economic growth across Southeast Africa and beyond. By expanding regional connectivity, this service will elevate tourism, catalyze trade, and foster stronger people-to-people interactions, while creating an essential gateway that links regional markets to global networks.

The mood around European aviation at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro is one of cautious optimism tempered by growing frustration.

Airlines are preparing for another busy summer. Passenger demand remains strong. Aircraft are full. Airports are crowded. Yet beneath the surface, many of the industry’s biggest challenges are becoming more acute rather than disappearing.

Speaking at the AGM, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe, Rafael Schvartzman, painted a picture of an industry squeezed from multiple directions. Geopolitical instability, rising fuel prices, border delays, taxation, sustainability costs and airport charges are all converging at a time when Europe is attempting to maintain its competitiveness in an increasingly connected global marketplace.

For decades, aviation executives have spoken about the “Asian Century.”

At this year’s IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the numbers suggest that century has arrived.

Over the next two decades, Asia-Pacific is expected to add 2.4 billion passengers, growing from 1.7 billion travellers in 2024 to 4.1 billion by 2044. That represents 41% of all global passenger growth and a compound annual growth rate of 3.8%.

For years, the aviation industry’s centre of gravity has been slowly moving east.

At this year’s IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, that shift felt less like a prediction and more like a reality.

While much of the discussion around Europe focused on regulation, taxation and competitiveness, the conversation around North Asia centred on growth, digital transformation and the emergence of China as a force that is increasingly shaping the future direction of global aviation. According to IATA’s Regional Vice President for North Asia, Xie Xingquan, the region’s story is no longer simply about recovery. It is about scale, influence and transformation.