“From the A to the AA” — that’s how Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens described the itinerary for a new nonstop flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that touched down May 16 with the promise of more conveniently linking the city’s sizable African diaspora to the continent.
Mr. Dickens, fresh off a six-day trip aimed at establishing business, educational, and cultural ties with the Ethiopian capital ahead of the flight launch, received a hero’s welcome during a boisterous celebration in the arrivals lobby at the airport’s international terminal.
Even before 9 a.m., a large crowd gathered to celebrate a flight that community members deemed a long time coming. A few among Atlanta’s Ethiopian diaspora, estimated in the tens of thousands, said they’d suffered long enough with arduous connections and high fares when headed back home to the ancient East African nation.
Mr. Dickens said the welcome, with upbeat music, dancing, and shouts from the crowd, was fitting coming off a trip where he was made to feel like family, he said.
“They say I look like one of them,” the mayor said to laughter and applause from the audience.
In his remarks, Ethiopian Ambassador Seleshi Bekele Awulachew said that Mr. Dickens had he’d been given an Ethiopian name — Abebe, which translates to “blossoming.”
“We gather here to witness the opening of a new window of opportunity,” said Mr. Seleshi, who took up his post in Washington in November.
Speaking after an Amharic poetry reading from a local student and before a traditional coffee ceremony from the birthplace of the beverage, Mr. Dickens pledged that the flight would lead to new virtual and in-person exchanges.
“The exchange that we just did, that transport — that provides the opportunity for this continent and that continent, for this country and that country, for this city and that city, from person to person, to be able to explore opportunities, trade business and products, but also to be educated and exchange ideas and to bring us closer as a people,” Mr. Dickens said.
“There’s so much divided in this world but now, Atlanta and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and America, are now tied together even more because of the great vision of Ethiopian Airlines.”
During the trip, the mayor visited a school called the Cambridge Academy, which welcomed the delegation with displays of craft and music, recalling the mayor’s “Year of the Youth” initiative “to empower, educate and employ” Atlanta young people throughout 2023 — a central theme he pushed during the trip.
Ethiopian Airlines Chairman Girma Wake called the mayor a “converted Ethiopian” as he outlined the more than 70-year history of the carrier, started with the help of former TWA executives as the landlocked nation sought to boost its commercial prospects after World War II.
Mr. Wake said Ethiopian Airlines sees a particular responsibility to connect African Americans with the land of their ancestry, noting that he’d personally been moved by a visit to Senegal’s Goree Island, where many African slaves passed through the Gate of No Return boarding ships carrying them to a lifetime of bondage in the Americas.
“There is a point of return now,” Mr. Wake said.
For Ketsela Gebru, the new flight enabled a poignant encounter. The Atlanta resident took advantage of the introductory ticket price to visit her 101-year-old mother in the Gondar region, perhaps for the last time.
“God gave me a chance to hug her,” said Ms. Gebru, telling Global Atlanta that she cradled her mother in the crook of her arm, just as she’d been held as a baby.
Nonprofits and global health organizations looking for deeper access into Africa also cheered the new flight.
Also from Gondar, Tewodros Manaye settled in the Nashville area years ago after being granted a diversity visa by the U.S. government.
“I got lucky, and I won the lottery,” said the software engineer.
Early generations of Ethiopians were driven to the U.S. by conflict; now they come for the opportunity and to be near family, said Mr. Manaye, who now serves as vice president of the Ethiopian Community Association in Nashville.
Atlanta’s strong business relationships with Africa should also benefit from the new link.
Beyond Addis Ababa, the secretariat city of the African Union, the Atlanta flight will give travelers forward connections to 63 African cities in the airline’s route map with a less than three-hour connection.
Atlanta becomes the seventh city that Ethiopian serves in the U.S. Airport officials said the idea for the route came about at a conference eight years ago, with the two sides staying in touch over the years.
“The arrival of flight 518 will strengthen our people, our culture, and our economies,” said Atlanta Airport General Manager Balram Bheodari.
Source: globalatlanta.com