Ethiopian Airlines Air Cargo Profile

Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services is the freight arm of Ethiopian Airlines, the state-owned flag carrier of Ethiopia founded on 21 December 1945 and headquartered at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD). The airline is wholly owned by the Ethiopian government through Ethiopian Investment Holdings and carries the ICAO code ETH and callsign ETHIOPIAN. It joined Star Alliance in December 2011. Its cargo division is the largest air cargo operator on the African continent, serving roughly 70 dedicated freighter destinations alongside the belly capacity of the group's wide passenger network.

The cargo fleet is centered on the Boeing 777 Freighter, of which the airline operated 12 by mid-2025 after taking delivery of its final unit in May 2025. This is complemented by around five Boeing 767-300F freighters (a mix of passenger conversions and newbuild aircraft, several of which have been parked) and about four converted Boeing 737-800BCF narrowbodies for regional and feeder lanes. Additional cargo moves in the holds of the passenger fleet, which includes Boeing 787s, Boeing 777-300ERs, and Airbus A350s.

Ethiopian routes most freight through its Addis Ababa hub, which sits between production centers in Asia and consumer markets in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Its principal European gateway is Liege Airport (LGG) in Belgium, served since 2007 with several daily freighter rotations and used as an e-commerce, pharmaceutical, and perishables distribution point. The carrier specializes in perishables such as flowers and produce, temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals, and general e-commerce, and it uplifted approximately 754,000 tonnes of cargo in its 2024 fiscal year.