Ethiopian Airlines Rejects Russian Aircraft Lease Request

Ethiopian Airlines has refused to lease its passenger planes to Russia. The Ethiopian news portal Addis Insight wrote about this.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that it held negotiations with a Russian delegation but noted that it does not have the authority to give instructions to Ethiopian Airlines regarding the leasing of aircraft.

The CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group cited two main reasons for refusing to lease planes to the Russians. The first is that Ethiopian Airlines is currently actively expanding its operations and is itself looking for additional aircraft.

As a second reason, the CEO pointed to the international sanctions against Russia due to the war in Ukraine and the risks of not complying with US requirements.