Ethiopian Graduates 172 Aviation Professionals - 19 February, 2015

Ethiopian Aviation Academy, the largest aviation academy in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has graduated 16pilots, 96 aviation technicians, 36 cabin crew and 24 marketing professionals at a ceremony held at Ethiopian Airlines Headquarters on 19 February 2015. Ethiopian Chief Executive Officer, Tewolde Gebremariam, gave out diplomas to all the graduates, and flight wings to graduating pilots and cabin crew. The graduates include nationals from Rwanda, Tanzania and Sudan. CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said, "Ethiopian Aviation Academy is the bedrock of our success by making us to be self-sufficient in critical aviation areas. We have invested over 80 million $ in our Academy over the last 4 years and have upgraded its in-take capacity to over 1,000 students per year. In line with our Vision 2025 strategic roadmap, we plan to further increase this in-take capacity to over 4,000 by 2025, with a view to serve not just our needs but also the growing demand of skilled aviation professionals across Africa." Ethiopian Aviation Academy has joined IATA’s global training partner network as an IATA Authorized Training Center, capable of delivering training programs: IATA International Travel & Tourism Training Program and Foundation in Travel & Tourism. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has recently voted the Academy as "Airline Training Services Provider of the Year". Ethiopian Aviation Academy is certified by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, the U.S Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and IOSA (IATA Safety Audit). The Academy has been providing training for pilots, maintenance technicians, cabin crew, marketing and leadership for the airline and other sisterly carriers in Africa for more than six decades. About Ethiopian Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing and most profitable airline in Africa. In 2014, IATA ranked Ethiopian as the largest airline in Africa in revenue and profit. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has been a pioneer of African aviation as an aircraft technology leader providing the first jet service in the continent in 1962, and availing the first African B767 in 1984, the first African B777-200LR in 2010 and the first African and second only to Japan B787 Dreamliner in 2012. Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 83 international destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet 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 airline group in Africa with seven strategic business units: Ethiopian International Passenger Service; Ethiopian Regional Service; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Service and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning, including SKYTRAX and Passenger Choice Awards in 2013 and has been registering an average growth of 25% per annum in the past seven years.