In April 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Group said it wanted to grow into a USD 25 billion company by 2035, bundling passenger, cargo, MRO, and hospitality ambitions into one long runway.
The Reporter Ethiopia summarized the plan as a fast-growth pitch: expand hubs, cargo capacity, and related businesses so the carrier stayed Africa’s dominant aviation brand while generating hard currency for a forex-starved state.
For Ethiopian readers, the number was never only corporate bravado. Ethiopian Airlines has long been both a national pride instrument and a revenue machine that Abiy Ahmed’s government leaned on while other exporters struggled.
Kept as reference, the 25-billion target belongs with other megaprojects of that era: ambitious timelines, heavy state branding, and a lasting question about who captures the gains when the flagship succeeds and the wider economy does not.
Sources: The Reporter Ethiopia
