Ethiopian Airlines will fly daily nonstop between Brussels and Addis Ababa from October 28.

The flag carrier currently makes stopovers in Vienna three days per week, increasing the journey time from seven hours to nine hours.

The daily service will depart Brussels at 2130 and land in the Ethiopian capital at 0630, while the return departs at 0045 and lands at 0615.

It will be operated by a mix of Boeing 787s and 777s, Luchtvaart Nieuws reports.

Ethiopian is the only carrier with nonstop flights between the capitals.

The Star Alliance member provides connections to more than 50 destinations around Africa, as well as seven domestic airports.

It also encourages passengers to visit Addis Ababa by allowing passengers to extend their layover at no extra cost.

The airline is now the largest in Africa, and one of the continent’s most profitable.

It launched its first flights from the UK’s Manchester Airport late last year. While the four weekly Manchester flights to Addis Ababa stop in Brussels, the airline said these won’t change with the Brussels increase.

It also added that its Vienna flights will continue to operate, along with Geneva and Marseille.

A $363m second terminal recently opened at Addis Ababa Bole International, more than doubling the airport’s capacity to 22 million annual passengers, though when Business Traveller visited earlier this year it still had several areas waiting to be completed.

Flight review: Ethiopian Airlines A350-900 economy class, London-Addis Ababa

ethiopianairlines.com