Dublin Airport is set to receive a major boost with the arrival of a new hub operation by Ethiopian Airlines next month. The carrier is one of Africa's largest and most successful, and was recently voted the sixth-most dependable airline in the world.

As part of its expansion of services into North America, Ethiopian has chosen Dublin as a staging post and European hub for its long-range services. To mark the announcement, a modern Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operated by the airline flew to Dublin for an April 16 ceremony ahead of the new flight schedule, which will see the first-ever flights connecting Africa with Ireland and the U.S. West Coast.

Routes planned include Addis Ababa to both Toronto and Washington Dulles, via Dublin for a refueling stop, starting on May 10. The return flight from both of these destinations will not stop in Dublin, however.

This will be followed by Addis Ababa to Los Angeles, via Dublin, starting June 20. The airline will offer stops in both directions on this flight. Through a deal with the Irish government, passengers can book tickets on any leg of this service under "fifth freedom rights." This will not be the case for the Toronto and Washington services.

To date, Ethiopian Airlines has been operating its Washington, D.C., and Toronto services via Rome Fiumicino, but has decided to switch the staging post to Dublin as part of a strategy to take advantage of growth opportunities at the Irish airport.

"We're already seeing strong demand for these services in the Irish market," Michael Yohannes, Irish Area Manager for Ethiopian’s Airlines, told Routes Online. Both Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft will be used on services through Dublin.

Now in its 75th year, Dublin Airport is enjoying signs of a revival, with a 17 percent growth in passengers over the first three months of the year. With this news from Ethiopian Airlines, Dublin has to date announced 21 new services starting this year. These include four across the Atlantic, five to the United Kingdom and 10 to Europe.

A direct effort has been placed on turning Dublin into a transatlantic gateway for connecting passengers, especially from the U.K. where London airports are struggling with overcrowding. Part of the airport's growth is due to the government's decision to drop the air travel tax of 3 euro per passenger.

Aer Lingus is growing its North American network this year and — through its Aer Lingus Regional subsidiary, operated by Stobart Air — is offering more connections from the British regions to Dublin. If British Airways owner IAG's bid to purchase Aer Lingus is successful, it could lead to more growth in this sector to alleviate pressure on British Airways' Heathrow hub.

"This summer, Dublin Airport will have 158 departures a week to North America, making it Europe's sixth-largest airport for transatlantic connectivity," Dublin Airport manager Vincent Harrison said.