Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to three airports in northern Tigray following an escalation of conflict in the region.
The airline announced via Telegram that flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire had been temporarily suspended from Wednesday due to the "current situation in the Tigray region."
"We sincerely apologise to our valued customers for any inconvenience caused by this suspension. We will inform you once flight operations resume," the airline said.
Flight tracking service Flightradar24 confirmed on Wednesday morning that the flight between Mekelle and the federal capital, Addis Ababa, had been cancelled.
The suspension follows Tigrayan forces seizing control of Mekelle's Alula Aba Nega Airport from federal police overnight, according to local sources.
An employee at the airport told sources on Wednesday that their supervisor had called while they were on their way to work. "Our supervisor called the driver and told him that the airport had been taken over by Tigray forces," the employee said. "Since there were no flights, he told us to return home." A foreign security source based in Ethiopia also confirmed the development.
The seizure comes days after the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) announced on Sunday that it had allied with six other armed groups across Ethiopia with the stated aim of overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. Rights groups have accused the TPLF of conducting forced recruitment campaigns this year as it prepares for renewed conflict.
The TPLF governed Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined following Abiy's rise to power. Its marginalisation triggered a devastating civil war that lasted from 2020 to 2022. The conflict killed approximately 600,000 people, according to African Union estimates, before the Pretoria Peace Agreement brought hostilities to an end.
The region has struggled to recover since. Around one million people remain displaced, and parts of the peace agreement have not been implemented. An uneasy calm held until late 2025, when clashes resumed, raising fears of a return to full-scale war.
Ethiopia also faces separate armed rebellions in its most populous regions of Oromia and Amhara, further compounding the country's security crisis.
