Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it has suspended flights to Eritrea following the freezing of its account

Ethiopian Airlines announced on Tuesday that it had suspended flights to Eritrea, its neighboring country, due to a blocked bank account.

Mesfin Tasew, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, disclosed during a press conference that the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority had blocked money transfers from the airline’s bank account in Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea.

Eritrea had previously declared that every Ethiopian Airlines flight would be suspended at the conclusion of this month.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the following year for the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, which resulted in the resumption of flights from Ethiopia to Eritrea after a two-decade hiatus.

“We couldn’t continue in such situation, and we have decided to suspend the flight as of today,” Mesfin informed reporters.

Ethiopian Airlines had made a statement late on Monday in which it stated that it would attempt to rebook affected passengers on other airlines at no additional cost or provide refunds.

Ethiopian is the greatest airline in Africa in terms of revenue and profit, as determined by the International Air Transport Association.

Five diplomats informed Reuters that the suspension of flights indicated that relations between Asmara and Addis had deteriorated substantially; however, the likelihood of a conflict was low at this time.

In 1998, the two nations severed their relations following the initiation of a two-year war over their disputed border.

In November 2020, Eritrea and Ethiopia engaged in a war against regional forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region. However, relations between the two countries were once again strained after Asmara was excluded from the peace negotiations that resolved the conflict two years later. Additionally, some of Eritrea’s troops remain in Tigray.

A request for comment was not promptly responded to by Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.