Direct flights from Denver to Ethiopia could be available in a few months

A direct flight option for travelers from Denver to Ethiopia may only be just a few months away after Mayor Michael Hancock and a crew of city business leaders traveled to the country this month to lobby for it. 

Hancock says the city has been working on a direct flight from Denver International Airport to Africa for years. He says city officials studied the top 15 markets in Africa for Denver passenger travel and found Addis Ababa in Ethiopia was the top target for Denver demand, and Cairo, Egypt, was a secondary target.

"Landing these two flights also means tens of millions of dollars of economic impact," Hancock said. "What we're asking Ethiopian Airlines, and ultimately Egyptian Airlines, to do is to commit a $200 million asset to our city, and the moment they commit that to us, they can't move it anywhere else... so, this is not a small ask, this is a huge ask."

Hancock says past additions of other international flights from DIA have resulted in significant economic success.

The city says the direct flight to Tokyo carries an annual economic impact of $130 million, the flight to Munich, Germany, has an $80 million annual economic impact, and the route to Panama has an annual impact of $26 million. 

"The teams have been working behind the scenes, studying data, making analyses, having conversations with the airlines showing about route conferences, trying to establish and to make very clear that we are interested in having a direct connect," Hancock said. "We had very fruitful conversations; I walked away from the kindness of Africa very, very energized and optimistic."

While he was there, Hancock even met with Ethiopia's prime minister.

"He saw us on television while we were there in a meeting with the mayor of Addis Ababa, and and he called and asked if I would come and meet with him," Hancock recalled. "We learned while we were there, which was a powerful story, was that while he was being elected prime minister, his wife and daughters were exiled here in Denver, and he simply wanted to thank us."

In total, the trip price tag was $100,000. 

Asked if he believed it was worth the money, Hancock answered, "without question... you don't become the third busiest airport in the world during this time, and a major hub to two major airlines, by sitting on your laurels and being proud that you have a good-looking airport... you must leverage that airport to connect throughout the world, and that's what we've been very intentional to do."

Mowa Haile, originally from Eritrea and President of Sky Blue Builders in Denver, was one of the business delegates to attend the trip with Hancock. He believes the cost was a valid expense. 

"Economically, it opens up Africa to Denver and Colorado. Ethiopia's capital is really the anchor of Africa, you can fly to Addis Ababa and fly anywhere in the continent," Haile said. "I know that it's a big number, but I think in the long term we'll have a return, just like the other flights have had."

When asked if there are concerns about the route being canceled down the road, Haile said, "Sky Blue builders has a lot of work at the airport. I think of all the international flights that they've put in place over the last 10 or 15 years, I think only one has failed, and so if you look at that, once they come here, we are a sticky product, and so I'm pretty confident it'll stay."

Muluye Hailemariam owns a chain of Ethiopian coffee shops in Denver, including a location inside DIA's Great Hall, called Kabod Coffee. As a local business leader and native of Ethiopia, Hailemariam was also invited on the mayor's trip as a delegate. 

She is also confident the cost of the trip will pay off. 

"Easy, as a businesswoman, $100,000 could be one day's return back," she said. "There's a lot of business opportunity."

She says because Denver business leaders from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Tigray attended the trip with Hancock, their presence also demonstrated important cultural unity at a time when Ethiopia has faced years of civil war. 

"There's a rich culture, so we have to connect," Hailemariam said. "Africa is a fast-growing continent, Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing countries, as well, so we have to be part of it, as well, we don't want to be absent."

The mayor says an official announcement on exactly when these direct flights to Ethiopia or Egypt will be available should be coming within the next few months. 

CBS News Colorado will continue with updates.