Ethiopian Airlines Suspends Flights to Three Northern Airports

Ethiopian Airlines has cut off air service to three airports in northern Tigray. The move follows fighting between federal forces and local militias. This escalation comes just days after the Tigray People's Liberation Front joined a new coalition of six armed groups. The airline posted on Telegram that operations were halted immediately starting Wednesday due to the volatile situation. Flights to Mekelle, Axum, and Shire remain suspended for now.

"We sincerely apologise to our valued customers for any inconvenience caused by this suspension," the carrier stated in its message. "We will inform you once flight operations resume." Travelers face significant disruption as the region fractures under rising tension. Flightradar24 data confirmed that the route between Mekelle and Addis Ababa was cancelled early Wednesday morning. No flights have taken off since then.

Local sources tell Reuters and AFP that Tigrayan forces seized control of Mekelle airport overnight from federal police. An employee at Alula Aba Nega Airport described hearing a supervisor order drivers home after learning the base had fallen to rebel hands. "Since there were no flights, he told us to return home," the worker said. A foreign security source based in Ethiopia confirmed this takeover directly to AFP. The airport is now firmly in Tigrayan hands, leaving civilian access severed completely.

Tensions have been simmering for years but flared violently again late last year. An uneasy calm held until 2025 when clashes resumed with deadly force. This new instability threatens peace that took over six years to build after the Pretoria Peace Agreement. About one million people are still displaced by the conflict that killed roughly 600,000 lives between 2020 and 2022. Many parts of the peace deal remain unfulfilled as fighting continues in various forms.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front ruled Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018 before being ousted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. His rise triggered a brutal civil war that devastated northern provinces. Rights groups now accuse the TPLF of forced recruitment campaigns as it prepares for this renewed conflict. Compounding the crisis, other rebellions are active across Oromia and Amhara regions too. These internal struggles threaten to tear the country apart further if not addressed soon.