Over the past several years, we’ve heard about plans for a new international airport in Ethiopia, which is supposed to be a game changer not only for Ethiopian Airlines, but also for the region. There’s now an exciting update, as ground has been broken on the project, so the facility is starting to take shape.
In this post:
Addis Ababa airport capacity to grow massively
Ground has been broken on a new airport near Addis Ababa, which is expected to become the largest in all of Africa, at a total cost of $12.5 billion.
The airport will open in phases — it’ll initially have a capacity for 60 million passengers annually, but once fully operational, it’ll have the capacity for 110 million passengers annually. The airport is expected to feature four runways, with parking for 270 aircraft (presumably many at remote stands).
While plans for the new airport were first announced in 2018, progress was slow for a long time, in part due to the pandemic. In 2024, the country moved forward with these plans, and now we’ve seen ground broken. National carrier Ethiopian Airlines is onboard with the move, and expects the new airport to open in 2030.
The new airport will be located in Bishoftu, around 30 miles from Addis Ababa, but there are of course plans for there to be easy transit between the city and the airport.
Now, I should mention that while ground has been broken, full financing hasn’t yet been secured, but there’s reportedly interest from lenders all over the globe. So I wouldn’t take this project as being 100% certain, and for that matter, the 2030 timeline seems highly optimistic to me.
Here’s what Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew has had to say about the project:
“This is truly a proud moment for Ethiopian Airlines and for all of Africa. We are embarking on a new chapter with the groundbreaking of Bishoftu International Airport that will redefine the continent’s aviation ecosystem. As we celebrate 80 years of service, this project stands as yet another milestone, underscoring our commitment to shaping the future of the African air transport industry, while supporting the growing demand for our passenger and cargo services. Bishoftu International Airport is a major step towards addressing the infrastructural gap in Africa and a key player in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and at Ethiopian we are committed to realize the completion of this project.”
I have to say, the renderings that the Star Alliance carrier has unveiled of the new airport look incredible.
Ethiopian Airlines desperately needs a new hub
Ethiopian Airlines is by most metrics Africa’s most successful global airline. The airline does an amazing job providing connectivity to its home country, and has also been pretty consistently profitable, especially for the region.
Ethiopian Airlines’ passenger experience is pleasant enough (though rather inconsistent), but the weak point of the experience is the carrier’s current hub, Bole Addis Ababa International Airport (ADD). The airport simply isn’t designed to handle the amount of traffic that there is during peak periods, so the airline sure could use a new setup.
It’s interesting to point out just how big the carrier’s growth plans seemingly are. Ethiopian Airlines carried around 19 million passengers last year, the current airport has an annual capacity of 25 million passengers, and the goal is for the new airport to have a capacity for 110 million passengers annually.
Just to put that into perspective, the current Dubai International Airport (DXB) has a capacity of 100 million passengers annually, while the plan is for the new Dubai World Central Airport (DWC) to eventually have a capacity of 260 million passengers.
So the goal is for Ethiopia’s new airport to have the same capacity as the current primary airport in Dubai. Ethiopian Airlines does have considerable growth plans, particularly with wide body aircraft, as the airline has recently ordered more Airbus A350s, Boeing 777Xs, and more. However, the Star Alliance carrier’s current order book gets it nowhere close to needing this level of capacity.
There’s another potential upside to the new airport. Addis Ababa’s current airport is at an altitude of over 7,600 feet, which greatly impacts takeoff performance. That’s why all of Ethiopian Airlines’ flights to North America have a refueling stop on the way.
The new airport is expected to be at an altitude of around 6,300 feet. While that’s still high, that should allow for some additional range, and might be the difference in terms of being able to operate select flights nonstop.
Bottom line
Ethiopia is planning to open a new airport near Addis Ababa, with the first phase being ready by 2030. This new airport will become Ethiopian Airlines’ new home, paving the way for significant growth. The current airport has the capacity for 25 million passengers annually, while the new airport will more than quadruple that capacity, to 110 million passengers annually.
I’m very curious to see how this project plays out. There’s still a lot that can change, and for that matter, airport construction projects are rarely punctual. Regardless, this is something to look forward to…
What do you make of the plans for a new airport in Addis Ababa?
Pretty neat to see such a major airport taking shape, Africa is really overdue for a proper hub.
Curious how long it would take to get anywhere near that 100M figure, though, since operations have to ramp as does airline capacity to match Plus presumably at least somewhat expanded local facilities for crew bases, maintenance, accommodations for people staying locally or laying over, etc etc. It's a lot to pre-build, but at least some...
Pretty neat to see such a major airport taking shape, Africa is really overdue for a proper hub.
Curious how long it would take to get anywhere near that 100M figure, though, since operations have to ramp as does airline capacity to match Plus presumably at least somewhat expanded local facilities for crew bases, maintenance, accommodations for people staying locally or laying over, etc etc. It's a lot to pre-build, but at least some of all of that has to be done before any serious growth can happen.
Lucky, it seems we hear about new airport capacity expansions and plane purchases seemingly daily, but is all this growth realistic / sustainable? Would be interesting to see a snapshot of current capacity (of airports and airlines) and announced capacity (by year) and the necessary growth to support it.
If everything that has been announced sticks, what does aviation have to look like in 10 years? Each announcement assumes millions upon millions of more...
Lucky, it seems we hear about new airport capacity expansions and plane purchases seemingly daily, but is all this growth realistic / sustainable? Would be interesting to see a snapshot of current capacity (of airports and airlines) and announced capacity (by year) and the necessary growth to support it.
If everything that has been announced sticks, what does aviation have to look like in 10 years? Each announcement assumes millions upon millions of more seats sold, travelers, trips, spend, etc... multiplied across hundreds of airlines, airports, hotels, etc... is it all actually possible?
They'd need market for sure.
One of the reason why Atlanta is the busiest in the world is because 80% of population of richest country on earth are within two hour reach. These new "global hubs" would need market as rich as United States to reach that size. Not to mention Atlanta is a connecting hub on it's own right between anywhere else and South America.
@Ben - I'd be curious to hear your take on the slate of new airports around the world being built that all purport to handle hundreds of millions of passengers per year over the next decade. It'll be nice to have an enhanced passenger experience, but I just don't see how we'll suddenly have billions more travelers needed to fit these airports projections.
110 million is a very large number. For all I know that’s higher than LHR, which sounds crazy to me, I am trying to think of all the people I know who travelled to or via Ethiopia and it’s not a massive number.
What am I missing? Do we think it has the potential to be the new DXB?
I dont think that planning for extra capacity in phases is that crazy. African aviation is still tiny in comparison to population, so there is huge growth potential if stability increases mid-term. And Ethiopian is very well positioned to capture that demand, being by far the largest and most reliable airline on the continent. While yes, their product is still inconsistent in comparsion to offerings from European or ME3 carriers, when compared to their African...
I dont think that planning for extra capacity in phases is that crazy. African aviation is still tiny in comparison to population, so there is huge growth potential if stability increases mid-term. And Ethiopian is very well positioned to capture that demand, being by far the largest and most reliable airline on the continent. While yes, their product is still inconsistent in comparsion to offerings from European or ME3 carriers, when compared to their African competitors like Kenya Airways or South African, Ethiopians lead is ridiculous.
There are many other factors that could affect the timing of this. The advantage of ADD is its location if you are not transiting. However for Africa related trips I would gladly fly them compared to many less reliable carriers with smaller operations.
"The new airport will be located in Bishoftu, around 30 miles from Addis Ababa, but there are of course plans for there to be easy transit between the city and the airport. "
Yeah Chinese made public transportation systems which will be subject to frequent breakdowns and out of service in a few years. Just look around Africa if you don't believe me. The new airport is a great idea but if you're actually traveling...
"The new airport will be located in Bishoftu, around 30 miles from Addis Ababa, but there are of course plans for there to be easy transit between the city and the airport. "
Yeah Chinese made public transportation systems which will be subject to frequent breakdowns and out of service in a few years. Just look around Africa if you don't believe me. The new airport is a great idea but if you're actually traveling to Addis and not a transit passenger, this is going to be a major hassle.
I don't know why airport access is so often an afterthought. It took the new IST five years to get a rail connection to the city; Navi Mumbai will get a rail connection 'in due course'; and I expect that there are other examples.
no need to look all over the continent. The Addis light rail hasnt hit its promised headways in half a decade and the direct train from Addis to Djibouti hasnt run since the beginning of Covid. In fact, Chinese transport projects in Ethiopia have been performing much worse than their peers around the continent or even "next door" in Kenya.
"the 2030 timeline seems highly optimistic to me."
No, obviously impossible to make operational from start in 4 years.
Sorely needed! I haven’t shared your experience of mixed flights - all of mine short, medium and super long have been outstanding. Thanks for explaining why US to ADD is nonstop and the reverse has a refueling stop - always wondered at that.
Had a great experience with them and a good use of United miles for ET business class. Would happily fly them again, but yes the current airport is a little sad.
They currently only go to NYC, IAD, YYZ, ORD, and ATL in North America. If those can go non-stop with the new airport, that’ll be a game changer for being competitive with the ME3+TK.