(Yicai Global) Nov. 24 -- Ethiopian Airlines is requesting travelers to pay the difference between the price they paid, should it be less, and current prices, as seats on flights between Africa and China are in short supply, a number of travel agents told Yicai Global.

The price of flights between the African continent and China over the peak Chinese New Year holiday period from December to February is now USD5,000 for economy class and USD7,000 for business class, according to a notice that the Addis Ababa-based carrier gave to travel agents. Should passengers have already bought their tickets and paid less, they must make up the difference, it added.

This is the first time in 17 years that he has encountered such a situation, one travel agent told Yicai Global. The flight ticket represents the contract between the airliner and the passenger. The contract comes into effect immediately upon the sale of the ticket. To refuse to fulfil the contract is an illegal act, he added.

Ethiopian Airlines is the main carrier between Africa and China. It operates one flight weekly between Shanghai and Addis Ababa. Flights to and from Africa via the Middle East on Emirates and Qatar Airways will only be available from March next year. If travelers wish to transit via other countries, the prices can be as much as CNY170,000 (USD26,612).

The release of such a shocking statement is due to the scarcity of seats between Africa and China, making it hard for people to buy tickets, analysts said.

There is also a big possibility that flights from Africa will trigger the ‘circuit-breaker’ mechanism, which automatically suspends flights when Covid-19 carriers are found on them. Ethiopian Airlines has already had two routes to Chengdu in southwestern China and Guangzhou in the southeast, that it reopened in the second half last year, halted. This has to do with the relatively low vaccination rate in Africa and heightens the risk for African carriers.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Kim Taylor