Ethiopian Airlines has unexpectedly suspended all scheduled flights to airports in Tigray, including Mekelle, Axum, Shire, and Humera, today. This information was initially obtained by Addis Standard, with a reporter on the ground in Mekelle confirming that airport staff were instructed to take a break for the day. Despite the flight cancellations, the Ethiopian Airlines' ticket office in Mekelle remained operational, providing services for future flights and rescheduling existing bookings, albeit without insight into the reason for the day's suspensions.

Passengers who had bookings for today's flights received direct text messages notifying them of the cancellation. One such message read: "Your flight ET0102 from ADD on 29 Jan 2026, at 08:10 AM has been cancelled due to unplanned circumstances. Please contact Ethiopian or your agency for updates." The airline's staff expressed uncertainty regarding the resumption of flights for tomorrow, stating that clarity would only come later today, although their system indicated flights were scheduled.

This is not the first instance of Ethiopian Airlines suspending services to the Tigray region. The airline previously halted flights to Tigray during the intense period of the Tigray war. Specifically, flights to Mekelle, the regional capital, were suspended for nearly 18 months, beginning in June 2021 after Tigrayan forces gained control of the city. Services only resumed in December 2022, approximately two months following the signing of the Pretoria peace agreement, highlighting the region's complex history with air travel disruptions.