Ethiopia and Eritrea- Passengers fastened their seat belts as they were on the historic flight between Ethiopia and Eritrea, they began singing and dancing in aisle aware of the momentous moment.
On Wednesday passengers were beaming and overwhelmed as flight attendants struggled to contain the excitement on the plane, as one of the two planes linked the countries for the first time in 20 years.
“I’m super excited. You have no idea,” said Izana Abraham, an Eritrean who was born in Addis Ababa – a fact that saw him deported from his home country during a bloody two year war between 1998 and 2000.
“This is history in the making.”
First commercial flight from #Ethiopia to #Eritrea touched down today. Emotions as families reunited in #Asmara . pic.twitter.com/bvXuke8UTg
— FANA BROADCASTING C (@fanatelevision) July 18, 2018
Izana, 33, was going to visit his father. The two had been separated ever since his deportation until finally meeting in Dubai last year.
During the flight from Addis Ababa passengers were given champagne and fresh roses before they boarded the plane.
Tariq Sabt, a 41-year-old businessman, told AFP he was hoped to reconnect with his cousin Daniel Alemu who grew up alongside him as a brother before moving to Eritrea in 1995 where he was stranded after the border shut several years later.
He spoke to his cousin Daniel for the first time on Sunday in years after telecommunications between the two countries was cut off.
He said, ” The whole family, they said he’d already died. No one expected he was alive.”
Photo Credit- mg.co.za
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