Ethiopian Airlines announced that it became the leading carrier by cargo volumes at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in 2020, handling 54,400 tonnes of cargo at the airport — which was recently hailed as the world's busiest airport last year. 

"In 2020, Ethiopian became the leading airline in terms of cargo transported in and out of the port by carrying a total cargo weight of 54.4 million kilograms," it said in a statement.

Ethiopia's flag carrier and Africa's largest airline noted that it operated 1622 services at the airport in 2020, including 966 with freighter aircraft, 572 with passenger aircraft modified for cargo services, and 84 with passenger aircraft transporting cargo in the belly hold.

"China is one of the top cargo origins and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is among the main international aviation hubs in the Greater Bay Area. We have worked very hard to provide efficient cargo service between China and the rest of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. The award is a recognition of this effort and it will inspire us to enhance our services to the greater bay area to meet the growing customer demand for airfreight," said Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam.

Increased frequency to Guangzhou

Ethiopian noted that it will increase its frequency to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to 14 freighters and 21 weekly services with modified passenger aircraft soon.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the carrier noted that it "strategically shifted" its business focus to cargo transportation and aircraft maintenance businesses.

Through its "passenger-to-cargo" conversions, Ethiopian said it was also able to efficiently transport vaccines, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies across the globe.

So far, Ethiopian Airlines has transported more than 20 million doses of vaccine to more than 20 countries.