What’s intended to be a cute initiative on Ethiopian Airlines’ part has backfired, as authorities in Lebanon took issue with a little detail on an aircraft belonging to the airline…
Lebanese authorities angry over Ethiopian Airlines plane
Ethiopian Airlines has what I’d consider to be a fun tradition, whereby the airline writes the name of a city on its newly delivered jets. Specifically, the airline writes the name of the first city that a particular aircraft flies to after it’s delivered and enters service.
In the case of the four-year-old Ethiopian Boeing 787-9 with the registration code ET-AXK, that first destination was Tel Aviv, so along the back of the fuselage, you’ll see “Tel Aviv” written in small letters. That didn’t go over too well yesterday, when this particular jet operated a flight to Beirut.
Shortly after 2AM on Thursday, April 25, 2024, this Ethiopian Boeing 787 flew from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Beirut (BEY), where it had a short turnaround. However, while on the ground, airport security noticed that “Tel Aviv” was written on the aircraft.
The country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation took issue with this, given that Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war, and have never had diplomatic relations. Authorities requested that the phrase “Tel Aviv” be removed from the aircraft before it could depart Beirut.
Amazingly enough that was somehow done, without the plane being delayed — it took off around 90 minutes after it landed. I’m curious about the logistics of that. Was this just a decal that came off easily, or…?
Lebanese authorities have also issued the airline a warning, telling the Star Alliance carrier to ensure that there are no logos related to Israel on any company aircraft when flying to the airport in the future.
This is sad, but I can’t say I’m surprised
Airlines make the world a smaller place, and connect people and cultures. I love the idea of what Ethiopian Airlines does with writing the name of a city on the side of each plane, since it’s a nice reflection of just how global the airline is.
Now, I guess I can’t say I’m surprised that this caused issues, given the times we live in. But at the same time, it’s sad, because there was no ill intent here, and the fact is that Ethiopian Airlines has historically flown to Israel. So just as a jet might have “Beirut” written on it, it might also have “Tel Aviv” written on it.
Ethiopian Airlines wasn’t even trolling Lebanon here, unlike when Lufthansa flew its “Diversity Wins” A330 to Qatar for the World Cup (which is trolling I approve of).
I also loved how back in the day, Emirates flight attendants had the option of wearing flag pins from their home country, since it was a fun reminder of just how global the staff at the airline are, and for that matter, a great refresher on flags. Unfortunately that had to be eliminated several years back, when China (PRC) demanded that no Emirates flight attendants wear Taiwan pins. The only solution was to end this practice altogether.
Bottom line
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 touched down in Beirut yesterday morning with “Tel Aviv” written on its fuselage, which didn’t go over well with authorities. There was no ill-intent here against Lebanon — the airline simply likes to note the first airport a particular aircraft flies to, and in this case it was Tel Aviv. But given relations in the region, that wasn’t well received.
What do you make of this Ethiopian Airlines mess?
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