ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: An Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner jet took off on Saturday on a commercial flight, becoming the first carrier to resume flying the Boeing 787 that were grounded worldwide three months ago due to battery problems.
The flight took off from Addis Abbaba and headed to Nairobi, according to an AFP journalist.
“I am very happy to see the airplane is back to the air now and I am very happy also we are the first one,” Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, told journalists ahead of take off.
The 787 will head back to Addis Ababa later on Saturday, airline officials said.
The 50 Dreamliners in operation worldwide were all grounded in mid-January after failures of their lithium-ion batteries on two separate aircraft.
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