Africa’s fastest growing airline, Ethiopian Airlines, has expanded flight services to Blantyre, Malawi and Ndola, Zambia. The new schedule of three flights per week will start from March 31st, 2013.

The airline is adding Blantyre, the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi, as its second route to Malawi after Lilongwe. Blantyre will be airline’s 44th destination in Africa. While Ndola, the third largest city in Zambia, will be Ethiopian’s 45th African and the 72nd international destination.

Ndola is the industrial and commercial centre in the copper belt of the country. The addition of Ndola to the airline’s flight service makes it the second destination after Lusaka.

EA’s Chief Executive, Tewolde Gebremariam said, “Ethiopian, as a flagship carrier of Africa, is pleased to add Blantyre and Ndola to its wide route network and to offer passengers to and from these cities the best possible connectivity through its Addis Ababa hub.”

Passengers travelling to and from Blantyre and Ndola will enjoy smooth connections to destinations in Ethiopian Airlines’ route network such as Washington, D.C, Toronto, London, Hong Kong, and Dubai, among many others.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines and Travelport, has signed a five year agreement to continue distributing Travelport Galileo products and services in the country.

Travelport Zambia Managing Director Terry-Anne Pickard said the exclusive five-year agreement cements the long-standing relationship between the company and Ethiopia Airlines and underlines the strategic importance of this east Africa region.

“Since commencing its operations in Ethiopia in 1997, Travelport has always maintained a strong position here, and this part of Africa remains a highly significant area of investment for the company,” Travelport Managing Director for Africa, Mark Meehan said.

He added that his company is now looking forward to “building on our successful relationship with Ethiopian Airlines, bringing new top-of-the-range Travelport products and services to our customers, and continuing to grow Travelport presence in this important part of the world.”