Ethiopian launches first 787 Dreamliner flight since grounding

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday became the world's first carrier to resume flights with Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets, a Reuters witness said, three months after they were grounded over battery meltdowns.

An Ethiopian Dreamliner passenger jet left Addis Ababa for a scheduled flight to Nairobi just before 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and was due to arrive in Kenya about two hours later.

U.S. regulators approved a new lithium-ion battery design last week, clearing the way for installation and a resumption of Dreamliner flights by international carriers. Dreamliners had been grounded on January 16 after two battery meltdowns that occurred on two jets within two weeks that month.

(Reporting By Aaron Maasho; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; editing by Mark Heinrich)