Ethiopian Airlines Goes Live on AirGateway With Full NDC Content

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline group in Africa, is now live on the AirGateway platform with its New Distribution Capability (NDC) content, giving travel agencies, Travel Management Companies (TMCs) and consolidators direct access to the carrier’s NDC-based offers through BookingPad, the AirGateway API and partner booking tools. The integration was announced on 16 October 2026.

The new connection enables Ethiopian Airlines to deliver richer content and an enhanced travel-buying experience to its customers while expanding the airline’s visibility and reach across the global travel-trade community. It adds AirGateway to the carrier’s digital distribution channels without altering its published schedule or adding capacity — instead, it strengthens the commercial infrastructure through which the existing network is sold.

Reaching a Network That Bridges Africa and the World

From its hub at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopian bridges Africa and the world with more than 145 destinations across five continents, linking African cities with Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Its network spans over 60 African destinations and connectivity extending to 54 African countries, including Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cairo, Accra, London, Paris, New York, Atlanta, Mumbai, Delhi, Tokyo and Singapore.

For agencies selling that network, Ethiopian’s direct content includes ancillary services and multiple payment options that can now be shopped, booked and serviced in the same workflow as the rest of their NDC content. The AirGateway network serves more than 550 accredited travel agencies across over 60 markets and connects directly to more than 35 airlines, potentially reducing the technical burden on agencies that would otherwise need separate integrations for each carrier.

The Full Booking Lifecycle, from Initial Search to After-Sales

• Shop and price: Access live Ethiopian Airlines NDC offers through AirShopping, with prices confirmed through OfferPrice before booking.
• Book and pay: Bookings can be placed on hold or ticketed immediately, with payment settled by cash or credit card.
• Service: Seat selection, ancillary services, voids, refunds and rebookings can be managed directly on the platform, without switching to a separate portal.

Availability of changes, refunds and ancillaries remains subject to the airline’s applicable fare rules and system conditions. Neither company disclosed financial terms or revenue projections tied to the integration.

What the Partners Said

Meaza Taye, Distribution and Global Corporate Sales Director at Ethiopian Airlines Group, said: “Enhancing our digital capabilities across our services is one of our key strategic priorities. Integrating AirGateway with our NDC system is an important part of this ongoing effort. With its extensive knowledge and expertise in the field, as well as its broad connectivity with travel agencies and booking platforms worldwide, AirGateway will enable us to reach and serve our customers more seamlessly and conveniently.”

Jorge Díaz, CEO of AirGateway, added: “We are pleased to introduce one of Africa’s most significant connecting airlines. This partnership substantially enhances our role as an aggregator within EMEA, which remains our primary operational region. With its NDC content on AirGateway, all our partners can now sell and service Ethiopian’s own offers within the workflows they already use, and improve their margins doing it.”

Why It Matters

NDC is the airline distribution standard developed by IATA that allows carriers to push richer product descriptions — fares, baggage, seat selection and other ancillaries — through modern data exchanges rather than restrictive legacy formats. For African aviation, wider adoption of modern retailing can make regional carriers more competitive and more visible to international sellers, and may help agencies build multi-destination African itineraries more efficiently.

Agencies interested in accessing Ethiopian Airlines NDC content can contact AirGateway at sales@airgateway.com.