Toronto – The Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday announced a major policy change regarding the method for air ticket reservations.  The policy will be applicable only for travelers to and from Ethiopia, and will not impact other international travelers.  

Travelers to Ethiopia will now have to make the payment for tickets with currency of the country where the Ticket was purchased.  The policy change appears to be a response to the new policy of the National Bank of Ethiopia. 

 “Ethiopian Airlines wishes to inform its valued customers of an important change in our payment for tickets policy. Effective immediately, passenger tickets for flights originating outside of Ethiopia must be purchased in the currency of the country where the passenger begins the journey, or hard currency, regardless of the place of ticket purchase. This change is in line with a new directive from the National Bank of Ethiopia and applies to all airlines operating in Ethiopia,”  the Airlines said in a news update it shared on its social media page. 

Tickets purchased in Ethiopia could be paid for in Ethiopian currency but there are restrictions attached to it. The travelers will have to be Ethiopians. Foreigners need to have a permanent resident permit to pay for their tickets in Ethiopian Birr , or need to have a work permit. Members of the diplomatic community based in Addis Ababa and holders of Yellow card – an ID Ethiopian Government issues for Ethiopians living in the diaspora – can also make the payment in Ethiopia currency when purchasing their tickets in Ethiopia. 

From what the airlines stated, passengers who want to purchase a ticket from Ethiopia with Ethiopian currency will need to produce a document to testify that they belong to the categories of travelers that are authorized to do so. 

The Ethiopia government has been facing a chronic shortage of hard currencies to the point that it had to introduce priorities for goods to be imported. 

Recently, the National Bank of Ethiopia introduced a range of policy measures with the aim to fix the financial crisis the government has been facing. 

Source: Borkena