ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Ethiopian Airlines on Monday inaugurated thrice-weekly flights to Istanbul -- a major route for the largest airlines in Africa coming after a fatal crash in March involving Boeing 737 Max 8 left all 158 passengers and crew perished.

The accident did not affect the carrier’s operations, CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told Anadolu Agency at the event.

"Istanbul is a global strategic hub for aviation in the world," Tewolde said, adding that Turkish investment in Africa amounted to a total of $6 billion of which Ethiopia received $2.5 billion.

"Ethiopia is a strategic partner for Turkey," he said.

The new flights would "link more than 16 destinations in Africa with Turkey," he said, adding all corners of Africa would be touched under this operation.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Yaprak Alp and the Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Bertukan Awalew.

Ambassador Alp for her part said the relations between Ethiopia and Turkey involved trade and investment.

"This new flight to Istanbul will strengthen the people-to-people relations between the two countries," she said.

Ethiopian Airlines’ Istanbul flight is its 19th destination in Europe and brings the carrier’s total number of international destinations up to 120.

"Our Istanbul route has been delayed, but it is better late than never," the CEO quipped.