The Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) said Monday it is planning to ground its three Canadian made Dash- 6 airplanes, which it said, are costing the airlines a huge maintenance expense due to long years of service.

The aircraft made by De Havilland Canada, which have a carrying capacity of 17, have been used for domestic flights in Ethiopia for many years, said EAL chief executive officer Girma Wake.

Girma told journalists that EAL's domestic flights were being subsidized by the international flights, adding the company has incurred a loss of 44 million birr (5 million U.S. dollars) due to the domestic flights last year.

He said EAL has plans to fly to areas with sufficient traffic and standard airports, using its jet planes to become profitable in the domestic flights.

Girma said EAL has requested concerned government organs to upgrade the standards of the airfields, on which the company gives service using its Dash-6 aircrafts, which was developed in the 1960s'.

He said only 14 of the 22 domestic airports, where the company flies to, can land Fokker-50 airplanes and the rest provide service only for Dash-6 aircrafts, both used by the EAL for domestic operation.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Airports Administration on its part said it will undertake the construction and rehabilitation of air fields that could accommodate large-size airplanes, based on the economic importance and the demand of the society.

Tassew Tekle, public relations officer of the Ethiopian Airports Administration, said the administration is regularly undertaking expansion and maintenance activities on its airports, adding that the administration is constructing airports at Jijiga, Asosa and Jimma towns.

Tassew said the government has given due attention for the construction and expansion of airports that can land large-size aircrafts in order to meet the demands of the society and the economic importance of the sector.

He said the administration has been undertaking the construction and rehabilitation of airports, in addition to activities that promote the EAL service with an outlay of 183 million birr (21 million dollars) in the current budget year.

EAL is a major carrier in Africa. It provides domestic and international air service between Ethiopia and other countries. It has a good safety record and is one of the few profitable African airlines. It also provides training and maintenance to more than a dozen African and middle eastern airlines.

Source: Xinhua