Africa’s Largest Airline Launches Europe’s Shortest Airbus A350 Route with New France Expansion
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline, has added another milestone to its growing European network by launching scheduled flights to Lyon, France, a move that has also resulted in what is believed to be the shortest regular Airbus A350-900 flight operating in Europe.
The new service, which officially commenced on July 2, connects Addis Ababa with Geneva and Lyon, further strengthening the airline’s presence across the European market. While the expansion to Lyon marks an important commercial achievement, aviation enthusiasts have been particularly fascinated by the unusually short flight segment between Geneva, Switzerland, and Lyon, France.
The distance between the two cities is just 53 nautical miles (98 kilometres), with the journey scheduled to take approximately 45 minutes. Despite the brief duration, Ethiopian Airlines operates the sector using its state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900, an aircraft more commonly deployed on long-haul international services spanning thousands of kilometres.
The Lyon service replaces Ethiopian Airlines’ previous Geneva–Brussels extension and now operates three times each week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. However, passengers cannot purchase tickets solely for travel between Geneva and Lyon because the airline does not hold fifth-freedom traffic rights on that route. Instead, the short flight functions as part of the airline’s broader Addis Ababa-bound service, connecting passengers to destinations across Africa and the rest of the world through its extensive hub.
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The latest addition reflects Ethiopian Airlines’ long-term strategy of improving connectivity between Africa and Europe through carefully designed one-stop routes that maximize efficiency while expanding access to new markets.
Geneva continues to play a strategic role in the airline’s European operations. It also serves as a stop on Ethiopian Airlines’ Manchester service, where the carrier enjoys fifth-freedom rights, allowing it to sell tickets exclusively between Geneva and Manchester and compete directly with European airlines on that route.
With Lyon joining its network, Ethiopian Airlines now serves three French cities—Paris, Marseille and Lyon. The carrier currently operates daily flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle, four weekly services to Marseille and three weekly flights to Lyon via Geneva, bringing its total number of weekly flights to France to 14.
The expansion forms part of Ethiopian Airlines’ broader growth ambitions as it continues to strengthen aviation links between Africa and Europe. The airline has been steadily increasing its fleet while investing in future infrastructure to accommodate rising passenger demand.
Central to that vision is the planned construction of a new $12.5 billion mega-airport near Addis Ababa. Once completed, the facility is expected to handle up to 110 million passengers annually and accommodate about 270 aircraft, positioning Ethiopia as one of the world’s leading aviation hubs and reinforcing Ethiopian Airlines’ status as Africa’s dominant carrier.
