Addis Ababa Airport Guide: Ethiopian’s High Altitude Hub
Addis Ababa Airport is the high altitude hub of Ethiopian Airlines. Explore its history, two runways, terminals, routes, transport links and spotting tips.
By The Aviation Hub
6 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Addis Ababa Airport, officially Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, is the home of Ethiopian Airlines and the main air gateway to Ethiopia. It sits in the Bole district on the southeast side of the capital, more than 7,600 feet above sea level. Just over 12 million passengers used it in 2024, and a large share of them were changing planes between Africa and the rest of the world. Its altitude makes it one of the more demanding big hubs to operate from.
Addis Ababa Airport at a Glance
The IATA code is ADD and the ICAO code is HAAB. The airport lies about 4 miles (6 km) southeast of the city centre, at the end of Bole Road. Its elevation is 2,334 metres (7,657 feet), and that figure shapes almost everything about how aircraft use it. There are two parallel runways and two passenger terminals, with Terminal 1 handling domestic flights and Terminal 2 the international network.
Addis Ababa Airport handled 12.1 million passengers in 2024, up 11 per cent on the year before, along with roughly 266,000 tonnes of cargo. Traffic has kept rising since, and the annual figure now stands at around 13 million. Ethiopian Airlines dominates, and its cargo division and aviation academy are both based on the field. Since a government reorganisation in the late 2010s, Ethiopian Airlines Group has also run the country’s airports. Flight information is on the airport’s official website.
A Short History of Bole
Ethiopian Airlines began flying in 1946 from Lideta, an airfield on the western side of the city. By 1960 the airline had ordered the Boeing 720, and Lideta’s runway was too short for jets. The government chose open ground at Bole, east of the centre. The new runway and control tower were working by December 1962.
The field opened as Haile Selassie I International Airport, named after the emperor. That name was dropped after he was deposed in 1974, and the airport became known by its district. A three phase expansion plan followed in 1997, covering a parallel runway, a new terminal and a taller control tower. The international terminal, now Terminal 2, opened in 2003 at a cost of about 1.05 billion birr.
A cargo terminal and maintenance hangar arrived in 2006. A much larger extension of Terminal 2 was inaugurated in January 2019, lifting capacity to around 22 million passengers a year. Weeks later, on 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes after leaving Bole for Nairobi. All 157 people on board the Boeing 737 MAX 8 died, and the accident led to the worldwide grounding of the type.
Runways at Addis Ababa Airport
Addis Ababa Airport has two parallel asphalt runways, both 45 metres wide. Runway 07R/25L is 3,800 metres (12,467 feet) long, and runway 07L/25R measures 3,700 metres (12,139 feet). The parallel strip was the first element of the 1997 plan. Both handle large wide body aircraft without difficulty.
Altitude is the defining issue. Thin air at 2,334 metres cuts engine thrust and wing lift, so aircraft need long take off runs and sometimes leave with reduced fuel or payload. That is why some westbound long haul flights have made a stop in West Africa or Europe on the way to the Americas. Airbus brought an A380 here in 2006 to test its engines in exactly these conditions.
The parallel layout lets controllers keep traffic moving during the banks of arrivals and departures that Ethiopian builds its hub around. Close to 380 flights a day were using the airport by 2018, and aircraft movements rose by more than 16 per cent in 2024 alone.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 1 is the older building and handles domestic flights through around ten gates. Terminal 2 carries the international and transfer traffic and, after the 2019 extension, offers around 50 gates. Transfer passengers dominate the flow, so the connections area matters more here than the landside halls. The Ethiopian lounges in Terminal 2 are the main premium spaces.
Ethiopian Airlines is the anchor tenant at Addis Ababa Airport and has been a Star Alliance member since 2011. Its passenger fleet includes the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9, the Airbus A350-900, the Boeing 777-300ER and the 737 MAX 8. De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops cover domestic and short regional routes. Ethiopian Cargo flies Boeing 777F freighters from its own cargo terminal. Foreign airlines include Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Etihad, Kenya Airways, Saudia and flydubai.
Routes and Destinations
The network is overwhelmingly Ethiopian’s, with well over 100 international destinations meeting at Addis Ababa Airport. African routes form the core. Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, Abuja, Accra, Kinshasa, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Lusaka, Harare, Juba and Djibouti all see frequent flights. The hub links smaller African capitals with each other and with markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Long haul flights reach Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. In Asia, Ethiopian serves Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Mumbai and Delhi. European points include London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Rome and Stockholm. The Gulf adds Dubai, Jeddah and Riyadh, where foreign carriers compete hard for the same passengers.
Cargo matters as much as passengers. Ethiopian Cargo moves cut flowers and fresh produce from the highlands to Europe and the Middle East, and carries manufactured goods from China into Africa. Domestic flights reach Bahir Dar, Gondar, Lalibela, Mekelle, Dire Dawa, Jimma and many smaller towns. Tourist traffic to the historic north peaks in the dry season from October to March.
Getting to and from Addis Ababa Airport
There is no rail link, and the city’s light rail system, opened in 2015, does not serve the terminals. Bole Road, also called Africa Avenue, runs from the airport straight towards Meskel Square and the centre. The drive takes 15 to 20 minutes outside the rush and much longer at peak times.
Taxis wait outside both terminals, and ride hailing apps such as Ride and Feres are widely used and usually cheaper. Agree any taxi fare in birr before setting off. Minibus taxis and city buses run along Bole Road for a fraction of the price, which makes them the cheapest sensible option for light travellers. Many hotels run shuttles, and Ethiopian’s Skylight Hotel stands beside the airport for passengers on long connections. Parking is available in front of the terminals.
Spotting and Photography
Spotting at Addis Ababa Airport needs care. Ethiopia treats airports as sensitive sites, and cameras at the perimeter can draw quick attention from police or soldiers. The safest place to watch is inside Terminal 2, where windows overlook the apron and the rows of Ethiopian wide bodies parked between banks.
The fleet is the attraction. Ethiopian 787s, A350s and 777s share the ramp with freighters, Dash 8 turboprops and visiting Gulf carriers, and the airline’s special liveries turn up regularly. Light is strong and high for much of the day, so early morning and late afternoon give the best results. Upper floors of hotels near the field can offer distant runway views. Ask before using a camera outside the terminal, carry identification and stop at once if asked.
What Comes Next
The current site is close to its limits. The 2019 terminal extension bought time, but Ethiopian’s growth plans run far beyond 22 million passengers. The answer is Bishoftu International Airport, a new hub planned around 25 miles (40 km) southeast of the capital. Ethiopian has talked of a multi runway airport eventually able to handle around 100 million passengers a year, with completion projected for about 2030.
Funding and construction pace remain the big questions for a project costed at around 12.5 billion dollars. Until Bishoftu opens, Addis Ababa Airport will keep squeezing more flights onto its two runways and more transfer passengers through Terminal 2. Bole is heading for a few more crowded years before it hands over the hub role. See how it compares with other hubs on the Airports of the World map.
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