Xiamen Airlines Plans Africa Debut With Addis Ababa Route

China’s Xiamen Airlines is preparing to enter the African market with a weekly seasonal service to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.

The SkyTeam member is scheduled to begin flights between Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) and Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) on Nov. 28. The route will be operated using Boeing 787-8 aircraft through Feb. 28, 2027. No airline currently serves the airport pair, OAG Schedules Analyser data shows.

The launch would mark Xiamen Airlines’ first destination in Africa and give Addis Ababa nonstop links to six mainland Chinese cities. Ethiopian Airlines currently serves Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai, while China Southern Airlines will launch 2X-weekly flights from Guangzhou via Changsha on Oct. 12.

Sabre Market Intelligence data estimates that only about 267 two-way O&D passengers traveled between Xiamen and Addis Ababa in 2025, equivalent to fewer than one passenger per day each way. However, approximately 24,300 passengers traveled between Xiamen and destinations across Africa during 2025. The largest markets were Luanda with about 4,700 passengers; Cairo with 4,400; and Johannesburg with 3,300.

Addis Ababa accounted for just 1.1% of Xiamen-Africa O&D traffic, highlighting the importance of connecting passengers. The route could enable Xiamen Airlines to consolidate demand from across its Chinese network while feeding passengers into onward connections through Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian capital is already the continent’s largest gateway for nonstop China-Africa capacity. Sabre data shows approximately 85,900 passengers traveled between Chinese cities and Addis Ababa in 2025, while the wider China-Ethiopia market generated about 102,300 passengers.

The new Addis Ababa route forms part of a broader expansion of Xiamen Airlines’ international network. OAG data shows capacity increased 7.6% year over year to approximately 3.86 million seats in summer 2026, with new or restored services including Fuzhou-Amsterdam; Xiamen-London Heathrow; Nanjing-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Nanjing-Jakarta, Indonesia; Wuhan-Jakarta and Quanzhou-Cebu, Philippines. During winter 2026-27, international capacity is scheduled to rise by a further 9.2% year over year to about 3 million seats.