ADDIS ABABA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) is set to launch services to Juba, south Sudan as of May 1, the airline said Tuesday.

    In a statement available to international media, EAL said it will serve Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, four flights a week, returning same day to the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

    EAL will fly to Juba on Mondays and Fridays with a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya, the statement said, adding that the airline will also fly to Juba on Wednesdays and Saturdays with a stopover in Entebbe, Uganda.

    It said EAL will operate Boeing 737-700, an up-to-date aircraft,to Juba with a capacity of 118 seats (16 seats in cloud nine, and 102 seats in economy class).

    The launch of the services to Juba will provide business executives and tourists direct link to Addis Ababa, Entebbe, and Nairobi, create convenient connections to Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Asia, and bring Sudan closer to the world, according to the statement.

    The launch of the services to Juba, the city with more than 160,000 people, will bring EAL destinations in Africa to 29, and to 46worldwide, the statement said.

    EAL will fly daily to Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, and Entebbe, ten times a week to Nairobi, five times a week to Kigali, Bujumbura and Khartoum, and four times a week to Djibouti and Somaliland's Hargeisa as of April 2006, the statement added. Enditem