Chad will be able to count on the experience and technical expertise of Ethiopian Airlines to set up a national airline. A memorandum of understanding to this purpose was signed in Addis Ababa by officials.

On Tuesday February 13th 2018, a Chadian delegation led by the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Chad (ADAC), Colonel Mahamat Adjam held a working session in Addis Ababa at the headquarters of Ethiopian Airlines.

Accompanied by the General Secretary Mahamat Saleh Douga and Advisor Captain Abdelhamid Ousmane Daba, both from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Civil Aviation, the Director General of ADAC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tewolde GebreMariam, President and CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.

With this agreement, the president of Ethiopian Airlines has expressed his full willingness to assist Chad with the creation of a national carrier. Given that Africa is not well integrated, Ethiopian Airlines advocates a "spirit of cooperation rather than competition", he said.

Already, Ethiopian Airlines has a West African code-sharing agreement and hub with Asky Airlines in Togo, and a Southern Africa code-sharing agreement and hub with Air Malawi in Malawi. Now Ethiopian Airlines is looking for a code-sharing agreement and hub in Central Africa. "We are studying all the companies in the region to see if any of them can play this role, or if they can be complementary”, said Tewolde GebreMariam to Jeune Afrique magazine.

Chad has been without a national carrier since 2012 when Toumai Air Chad ceased operations. The authorities have accepted the challenge to recreate the national company, so as to participate on an equal basis in the Single Market for Air Transport in Africa (MUTAA) initiative launched last January and which Chad has not yet joined.