Nairobi - (AFP) - Ethiopian Airlines announced Tuesday that it will resume commercial flights to Tigray, after an 18-month hiatus due to the bloody conflict in this region in northern Ethiopia.

This comes the day after a visit by a delegation from the Ethiopian government to the region's capital, Mekelle, noting that it is the first official visit in more than two years and constitutes a key stage in the peace process that began in November.

"We are really pleased to resume our flights to Mekele," Ethiopian National Airlines Chairman Mesfin Tasso said in a statement.

He added, "The resumption of these trips allows families to reunite, facilitates the return of commercial activities, gives impetus to the tourist flow, and provides other rare opportunities that will serve the community."

The largest airline in Africa reported that it will operate daily flights to Tigray, with an increase in frequency according to demand.

The delegation that visited Mikkeli on Monday included the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ethiopian Airlines, in addition to the heads of “Ethio Telecom” and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, two main parties to the return of basic services that have not been available in Tigray for more than a year.

On December 6, Mekele was connected to the national electricity grid. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the country's largest bank, announced on the 19th of it the resumption of its operations in some cities, in parallel with the start of the return of telephone service.

On November 2, the government and the Tigray rebels signed an agreement ending the two-year war in northern Ethiopia.

The agreement stipulates, in particular, the disarmament of the rebels, the return of federal authority to Tigray, and the reconnection of this region to the outside, after continuous isolation since mid-2021.

UN statistics showed that the conflict made more than 13.6 million people completely dependent on humanitarian assistance in northern Ethiopia, including 5.4 million in Tigray, seven million in Amhara, and 1.2 million in Afar.