Ethiopian Airlines Resumes Addis Ababa-Mekelle Flights

Ethiopian government forces and an allied militia entered Adwa without a fight after Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters withdrew, according to Al Jazeera. Its report, published Oct. 12, 2026, places the entry on Sunday, days after Ethiopian forces captured Adigrat. Ethiopian Airlines also resumed flights between Addis Ababa and Mekelle on Sunday.

Those developments mark changes in military control and air access, not an established return to normal travel conditions. Al Jazeera’s reporting from Adwa includes accounts of closed shops and looted public institutions, including a hospital. For travelers assessing access to Tigray, the distinction matters: a flight restart does not resolve the conditions reported elsewhere in the region.

Adwa entry follows TPLF withdrawal

Residents told Al Jazeera that federal forces and an allied militia entered Adwa a day after TPLF fighters withdrew. The publication described the town as roughly 40km (24 miles) from Eritrea’s border, placing the advance close to the neighboring country amid an escalating diplomatic dispute.

The accounts do not establish complete government control throughout Adwa. A separate resident, speaking anonymously, confirmed the TPLF withdrawal but said government forces deployed in the town had not reached its center. That distinction limits how broadly the reported entry can be interpreted.

A resident identified as Aferwerki told AFP, in an account carried by Al Jazeera, that all shops were closed and that government institutions, including Adwa Hospital, had been looted the previous night. The anonymous resident also described deserted roads and residents’ fear of theft. These are residents’ accounts, rather than a comprehensive assessment of services or security.

The entry without a fight also followed violence earlier in the month. According to Al Jazeera, conflict monitor ACLED said Ethiopian drone strikes targeted a hotel in Adwa on Oct. 4, wounding between five and nine people, including security personnel, who were taken to a hospital. ACLED said indications that senior TPLF officials were present had not been verified.

Mekelle flights resume after airport seizure

Ethiopian Airlines resumed service from Addis Ababa to Mekelle for the first time since Sept. 23, according to Al Jazeera. The publication reported that a seven-group armed alliance including the TPLF began fighting Ethiopian forces and captured the airport on that date.

The Associated Press separately reported that TPLF-led rebels withdrew on Oct. 3, when government-allied fighters entered Mekelle. Al Jazeera said the TPLF had confirmed its withdrawal from the city and temporarily moved its regional administration elsewhere.

AP reported that supporters greeted Getachew Reda, a former Tigray leader now advising Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and intelligence chief Redwan Hussein at Mekelle airport. Reda promised supporters change in the region but did not elaborate on what that would involve.

For anyone considering the route, the verified transport development is specific: flights between the national capital and Mekelle have resumed. The reports do not establish a dependable onward travel corridor from Mekelle to Adwa or Adigrat. Treating those destinations as accessible simply because the airport is operating would go beyond the evidence.

The airport’s recent history is relevant to that judgment. According to AP, its seizure, the rebels’ withdrawal and the return of government-allied fighters preceded the airline restart. Aviation access here is being reported against a backdrop of changing military control, not separately from it.

Eritrea dispute complicates the northern security picture

The advance into Adwa comes amid allegations of Eritrean involvement that require careful attribution. In a separate report, AP cited Ermiyas Ababu, a government-allied Tigray Peace Force commander, as saying Eritrean personnel entered Adigrat on Tuesday and Idaga Hamus on Wednesday. AP said it could not independently verify his account.

That report also cited ACLED as saying Eritrean troops crossed at Zelambesa on Wednesday and came under drone attack while traveling toward Idaga Hamus. ACLED attributed the strikes to Ethiopia’s military. AP could not independently verify that account either. These allegations should not be treated as independently confirmed troop movements or used to infer current control of those towns.

AP’s report on Mekelle described a parallel dispute at the United Nations. Ethiopia told the Security Council on Friday that it was taking self-defense measures and accused Eritrea of sending troops across the border and occupying parts of northern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos did not identify the occupied areas or provide supporting evidence in his letter, according to AP.

Eritrea has denied supporting the TPLF. AP reported that Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh’s response to the Security Council did not confirm or deny the alleged border crossings. Al Jazeera reported that Eritrea severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia last week over accusations of support for the rebel alliance.

Air access is not a regional reopening

AP reported that renewed fighting has undermined the 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year war. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged the parties on Friday to cease hostilities and resume dialogue, warning that the fighting risked further destabilizing the wider region.

For travel decisions, keep the airline development and the ground-security reporting separate. Mekelle’s resumed flights are a concrete change in access. Adwa’s reported looting, the recent hotel strike and the competing accounts of troop movements describe a different set of conditions. On this evidence, describing Tigray as reopened for travel would overstate what has changed.