DR CONGO: Goma Airport - Resumption Of International Flights Ethiopian Airlines

The first plane of Ethiopian Airlines landed Wednesday on the runway at Goma International Airport (North Kivu). The resumption of flights with the destination of Goma, after three weeks of suspension of services by the Congolese authorities, has been welcomed by passengers and the governor of North Kivu Julien Paluku, present for the occasion.

Ethiopian Airlines was inaugurated on July 10 its tri-weekly service from the capital of North Kivu since Addis Ababa, and thus became the first airline to conduct a liaison with international Goma. 13, the Congolese authorities had suspended flights from the Ethiopian company for reasons called "technical" on the track, on which however posed A320 Congolese company CAA, much bigger than the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft.

A 15h Wednesday, the Fokker 400 DH-Q Ethiopian Airlines has therefore placed on the Goma runway, with 17 passengers on board. The plane had to leave two hours later with six passengers towards Kinshasa with stopover in Addis Ababa.

The passengers were faced with payment of the international fee-PASS GO, worth 50 US dollars required by collectors RVA in Goma.

Passengers believed not to have to pay that tax because the international stopover in Ethiopia did not depend on them but of the company. A compromise was finally found and six passengers were on board.