But both the airline, and the nation as a whole, have a history of excellent safety on a continent where aviation practices can sometimes be dicey. The US Federal Aviation Administration gives Ethiopia a Category 1 safety rating, the organization’s highest, which means it can operate flights to the US, which it does. The nation also passes muster with the EU’s European Aviation Safety Agency regulations.

Ethiopian Airlines, the national flag carrier, also has a trustworthy safety report card, and a large fleet — the biggest in Africa — of modern Boeing and Airbus airplanes. It flies among others the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, for which it was one of the earliest customers, and the Airbus A350. It’s also a leading member of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, along with names such as Lufthansa, United and Singapore Airlines. As an alliance member, it must maintain stringent safety protocols.

The airline has a safety rating of six stars out of a possible seven on respected aviation site AirlineRating.com. Those ratings are based on safety rankings from international regulatory bodies and how often airlines have fatalities. - link to Gary Leff’s 12 Mar 2019 article in “The Points Guy” blog