One of the four airlines belonging to the Ethiopian Airlines Group took delivery of two brand-new aircraft, which arrived in Africa from Europe in late April.
On December 2nd, 2024, the inaugural flight of Air Congo, the country’s new airline—owned by Ethiopian Airlines but established in partnership with the DRC government, which holds a 51% stake—departed from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The airline began its scheduled operations with a single aircraft in its fleet, a Boeing 737-860 with registration number 9S-AOA, acquired by Ethiopian Airlines in April 2012, brand-new from the factory. Until November 2024, it held the Ethiopian registration ET-APK, and had already operated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for several months, specifically for Congo Airways between April 2017 and October 2017, leased from Ethiopian.
Air Congo (4H/DRC) concluded 2024 with two aircraft in its fleet, having taken delivery of its second Boeing 737-800 in mid-December. The former ET-APF was re-registered as 9S-AGA and entered service with the new Congolese airline on December 17th, 2024, on flight ET62 between Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.
Throughout 2025, Air Congo maintained the two aircraft in its fleet, as well as the same routes from Kinshasa, its main hub, where it operates most of its domestic routes, although it also offers domestic services between other cities in the country.
| From | To | Flight(s) | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinshasa (FIH) | Gemena (GMA) | 2 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Kinshasa (FIH) | Kananga (KGA) | 3 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Kinshasa (FIH) | Kisangani (FKI) | 7 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Kinshasa (FIH) | Lubumbashi (FBM) | 11 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Kinshasa (FIH) | Mbandaka (MDK) | 2 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Kinshasa (FIH) | Mbuji Mayi (MJM) | 3 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Kisangani (FKI) | Bunia (BUX) | 2 weekly | ATR 72-600 |
| Kisangani (FKI) | Gbadolite (BDT) | 2 weekly | ATR 72-600 |
| Kisangani (FKI) | Isiro (IRP) | 2 weekly | ATR 72-600 |
| Kisangani (FKI) | Kindu (KND) | 2 weekly | ATR 72-600 |
| Lubumbashi (FBM) | Kalemie (FMI) | 2 weekly | ATR 72-600 |
| Lubumbashi (FBM) | Kananga (KGA) | 2 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
| Lubumbashi (FBM) | Mbuji Mayi (MJM) | 2 weekly | Boeing 737-800 |
In 2026, the airline owned by Ethiopian Airlines underwent its first major expansion, both in terms of its fleet and its flight network, following the launch of its first international route.
On February 19th, Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737-860, registration ET-BCI, arrived in Kinshasa on a ferry flight from Addis Ababa. The following day, under the same registration, it entered service with Air Congo, becoming the Congolese airline’s third aircraft.
This 737-800 never operated for Ethiopian, as Air Europa had been its last operator. It was part of the Spanish airline from January 2014 to October 2025, remaining idle in Ostrava until February 2026, when it was repainted with the Air Congo livery.
Ethiopian Airlines already operates international routes to/from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but Air Congo commenced international operations on March 22nd, 2026, with the Kinshasa-Lubumbashi-Johannesburg route and vice versa.
At 16:04 local time that day, Air Congo’s Boeing 737-860, registered 9S-AGA, landed at OR Tambo International Airport covering flight ET82. The airline will operate this route three times a week, offering 462 weekly seats.
On the Lubumbashi-Johannesburg route, Air Congo competes with Airlink and South African Airways, both South African carriers, which operate Embraer 190 and Airbus A320-200 aircraft, respectively. Meanwhile, on the Kinshasa-Johannesburg route, South African Airways and ASKY Airlines operate flights, the latter being another airline owned by Ethiopian Airlines.
Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
In June 2025, Azul Linhas Aéreas, one of Brazil’s leading airlines, planned to add two new ATR 72-600s to its fleet, with registrations PR-YXG and PR-YXH. As can be seen on JetPhotos, both turboprops were already wearing the airline’s livery, but ultimately they were not taken up and remained parked at Toulouse Francazal.
For unconfirmed reasons, Azul decided not to add these two ATR 72s to its fleet, which would have brought its total number of ATRs to 40. However, not all of Azul’s ATR 72-200s and ATR 72-600s are currently in service, with around 10 grounded at present in accordance with our database.
On April 28th, within a span of two minutes, Air Congo’s two new ATR 72-600 aircraft landed at Addis Ababa’s Bole Airport, already bearing the airline’s paint scheme, after flying from Toulouse via Cairo. The work involved prior to the aircraft’s delivery to Air Congo, including the painting process, was carried out at Toulouse-Francazal Airport.
Following a two-day stay in the Ethiopian capital, the ATR 72-600 with registration number ET-BCO took off for Kinshasa on April 30th at 08:23 local time, making a technical stop in Entebbe. At 14:34 local time, after nearly eight hours, it landed at N’Djili Airport, entering commercial service for Air Congo on May 4th.
The ATR operated a repositioning flight between Kinshasa and Lubumbashi on May 3rd, and the following day operated flight ET84 from Lubumbashi to Kalemie, its first scheduled flight since arriving in Africa.
As can be seen in our database, the ATR 72-600 registered ET-BCO is currently operating domestic routes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but not in the capital of the country. Kalemie-Kisangani, Kisangani-Isiro, Kisangani-Bunia, Bunia-Isiro, Kalemie-Kindu, Kisangani-Gbadolite, and Kalemie-Lubumbashi are the routes it has operated so far.
Meanwhile, the ATR 72-600 with registration number ET-BCM remains in Addis Ababa and is expected to begin operations for Air Congo shortly.
The Ethiopian Airlines Group is Africa’s leading airline holding company, including the continent’s largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines (ET/ETH).
Its hub is in Addis Ababa, connecting the Ethiopian capital with Asia, Europe, South America, and the United States. It also operates an extensive domestic network within Ethiopia, primarily using Dash 8 aircraft, as well as routes across the African continent, which it serves with both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines has 158 aircraft in its fleet, comprising 22 Airbus A350-900s, 4 Airbus A350-1000s, 3 Boeing 737-700s, 11 Boeing 737-800s, 4 Boeing 737-800(F)s, 23 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 4 Boeing 767-300(F)s, 6 Boeing 777-200(LR)s, 5 Boeing 777-300(ER)s, 20 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and 31 Dash 8s. Some of them currently operate for its other airlines in Africa.
ASKY Airlines (KP/SKK) is an airline based in Lome, the capital of Togo. Ethiopian Airlines is the majority shareholder, with a 40% stake, while the Togolese government owns approximately 15%. It also has other shareholders, including banks and private investors.
The first scheduled flight took place on June 15th, 2010, operating between Lome and Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The initial fleet consisted of Boeing 737-700s and Dash 8s; it currently has nine Boeing 737-800s and six Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Malawi Airlines (3W/MWI) is an airline based in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. Like Air Congo with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi Airlines is a joint venture with the government of Malawi, which owns 51% of the airline, while Ethiopian Airlines holds the remaining 49%.
On January 31st, 2014, the airline made its first regular flight, operating between Lilongwe and Blantyre, a domestic flight conducted by a Bombardier Q400. Currently, Malawi Airlines has three aircraft in its fleet, including two Boeing 737-800s and one Dash 8.
Zambia Airways (ZN/AZB) is an airline based in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Established in August 2018 as a joint venture between the government of Zambia, represented by the Industrial Development Corporation, and Ethiopian Airlines, holding a 55% and 45% stake, respectively.
The relaunch of the national carrier Zambia Airways, which operated between 1964 and 1994, took place on December 1st, 2021, with a flight between Lusaka and Ndola. Zambia Airways currently has two aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 and a Dash 8-Q400.
Cover photo: © Corneliu B?lan – JetPhotos
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