Ethiopian Airlines' new Boeing 787 named 'Tel Aviv' lands at Ben Gurion Airport

Jan 7, 2020: Ethiopian Airlines' new Boeing 787 Dreamliner named "Tel Aviv" landed at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday, making it the first foreign airline to name an aircraft after a city in Israel.

The aircraft, carrying around 300 passengers, received a warm ceremonial welcome upon its arrival in Tel Aviv Sunday night - attended by the Ethiopian Ambassador to Israel Tsegay Berhe, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai as well as many Ethiopian Airline staff currently operating in Israel.

Currently, Ethiopian Airlines operates two daily flights on a direct line from Tel Aviv to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - a regular line that the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner will now operate on - flights that leave at 9:00am and 12:45pm each day, respectively.

In addition, Ethiopian Airlines connects Israel to over 120 destinations spread across five continents, including Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe - with 62 available destinations spread across Africa alone.

Bilan Arpain, the regional director of Israel for Ethiopian Airlines, said that naming the new Dreamliner aircraft after the city of Tel Aviv demonstrates with it the significance and importance Ethiopian Airlines attaches to the destination, to Israel, to the local market and to their loyal Israeli passengers.

"This is a special day and an important milestone for Ethiopian Airlines that marks more than 23 years of successful operations in Israel. Therefore, I am honored to be able to present this unique aircraft to the public. We believe in the Israeli market and aim to increase our operations in the near future," Arpain concluded.