The first Ethiopian Airlines commercial flight to neighboring Eritrea in 20 years took off on Wednesday.
With 456 passengers on board, the flight set off for the capital Asmara following a successful thaw in ties between the Horn of Africa countries that began this May.
On July 9, the leaders of the two countries agreed to resurrect land and air transport links plus phone service and allow Ethiopia to use the port of Assab.
Ethiopians keen on seeing their Eritrean relatives, Eritreans living in Ethiopia, government officials and curious citizens who want to visit neighboring Eritrea – which was part of Ethiopia until 1993 – are among the first passengers to Asmara.
Also among the passengers on the historic flight are former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and his wife Roman Tesfaye.
Many Eritreans long separated from their relatives booked the return flight.
Ethiopian Airlines is now set to fly twice a week to its northern neighbor.
