► TOGO: Ethiopian Cargo to set up West African hub based out of Lomé.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) cargo division, Ethiopian Cargo, is nearing the final stages of setting up a cargo hub in the Togolese capital of Lomé, the carrier has said. Lomé currently acts as a hub for Ethiopian's West African subsidiary, ASKY Airlines (KP), and will shortly play a pivotal role in the airline's plans to launch flights to South America.

Ethiopian Cargo's network
(Ethiopian)

According to Ethiopian Cargo, it will soon open its cargo hub in Lome, Togo to serve over 10 destinations in the region including Douala, Accra, Bamako, Abuja, Malabo, N'djamena, Libreville, Ouagadougou, Port Harcourt, Cotonou and Abidjan.

Last year Saudia Cargo (SV) moved to exploit the growing West African market through the establishment of various interline partners in West Africa with traffic to be funnelled out of Lagos, Nigeria. Etihad Cargo (EY) also followed suit with a similar agreement also using Lagos as a central hub.

In order to handle its growing regional, and international prominence, Togo is in the process of upgrading Lomé's, l’Aéroport International Gnassingbé Eyadèma (AIGE), also known as Lomé-Tokoin Airport, to the tune of USD150million, while at the same time planning a completely new facility at Tsevie, 40km from Lomé, set for completion by 2020.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian cargo has acquired rights to operate the Kigali - Brazzaville sector of its Addis Ababa - Kigali - Brazzaville - Addis Ababa flight with the first shipment having been uplifted on May 6.