The kings of the African Aviation Jungle yet again portray another act of exponential growth, this time in the cargo section of the biggest airline on the African continent. At Ethiopian Airlines’ largest MRO facility in Africa, Addis Ababa (ADD), the first 767-300BDSF freighter was being upgraded in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
At its facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Airlines started a cargo conversion operation. This decision, which was made public on August 19th, could only have been taken with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) cooperation. The 767-300 passenger to the freighter conversion process
Developing the 767-300 freighter required close cooperation and teamwork with IAI. During the Genesis stage of the conversion, Tewolde GebreMariam, then-CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, expressed excitement by declaring, “We have been boosting our cargo capacity in fleet, ground service infrastructure, and cargo connectivity network.” In order to develop a cargo conversion centre in our MRO facilities at Addis Ababa Airport, we are collaborating with IAI, one of the world’s technological leaders in the aerospace business.
Three 767-300s owned by Ethiopian Airlines were converted at the conversion site to begin operations. The first of the three is this one.
The whole interior of a passenger aircraft must be removed, including the restrooms, galley, and seats, and the windows must be sealed. Pallets of goods may now more readily slide down to the back of the aircraft thanks to the addition of floor rollers.
To make sure the aircraft can withstand the weight of its increased loads and to provide room for the addition of a side door, structural work is done. The door, which removes a sizable portion of the fuselage and transforms it into an opening big enough to carry cargo pallets, is arguably the most intricate modification performed to the planes.
The worldwide expansion of IAI
An IAI facility set up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, gives hope to many African jets, not just those of Ethiopian Airlines. With a sharp rise in the demand for cargo aircraft due to the proliferation of e-commerce rise and also the effects of the pandemic, many airlines have turned to freight as a key element of their business strategy.
Older wide bodies like the Boeing 767 have been successfully converted, despite the high cost of new freighter aircraft. IAI has opened conversion centres all around the world as a result of this. This has included collaborating with Etihad on the Boeing 777-330ERSF “large twin” project and getting Cargo jet, a Canadian airline, to place an order for four of the same aircraft. The company most recently received EASA certification for conversions of Boeing 737s.
The Ethiopian-based passenger to freighter conversion centre, established by IAI, is the first of its kind on the African Continent and has a significant footprint throughout the world.
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