Plans for a new international airport in Ethiopia are slowly taking shape and it will bring groundbreaking changes not only for Ethiopian Airlines but for the entire region.
Capacity of Addis Ababa airport to be quadrupled
The government of Ethiopia has signed an agreement to build a new airport near Addis Ababa, expected to be the largest in Africa. The airport will have a capacity of up to 100 million passengers a year and will have four runways and parking for 270 aircraft (many of which will likely be in remote stands).
Although plans for the new airport were first announced in 2018, progress has been slow, partly due to the pandemic. However, the country is now moving forward with these plans and Dubai-based Sidara has been appointed to design the airport. National carrier Ethiopian Airlines is on board with the plan and expects the new airport to open in 2029.
The new airport will be located in Bishoftu, about 30 miles from Addis Ababa, but of course the plan is to provide easy transit between the city and the airport.
The airport will open in several phases. The first phase alone is expected to cost $6 billion and will be financed through loans. It is not clear in which year the airport will be able to handle 100 million passengers per year.
Although the government says it is committed to the project, it must be stressed that plans are subject to change, particularly at such an early stage before the design is even finalised.
Ethiopian Airlines urgently needs a new hub
Ethiopian Airlines is, by most measures, Africa’s most successful global airline. The airline does an excellent job of connecting its home country and is also fairly consistently profitable, especially for the region.
The Ethiopian Airlines flight experience is good (if rather uneven), but the weak link is the airline’s current hub, Bole Addis Ababa International Airport (ADD). The airport is simply not designed to handle peak-time traffic, so the airline could certainly do with a new facility.
It is interesting to note how big the airline’s growth plans appear to be. Ethiopian Airlines carried 17 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 of 100 million passengers per year.
To put this into perspective: The current Dubai International Airport (DXB) has a capacity of 100 million passengers per year, while the new Dubai World Central Airport (DWC) will ultimately have a capacity of 260 million passengers.
So the aim is for Ethiopia’s new airport to have the same capacity as the current main airport in Dubai. Ethiopian Airlines has significant growth plans, especially in wide-body aircraft, as the airline recently ordered more Airbus A350s, Boeing 777Xs and more. However, the Star Alliance carrier’s current order book is nowhere near enough to reach this level of capacity.
Conclusion
Ethiopia plans to open a new airport near Addis Ababa. The first phase is expected to be completed in five years, in 2029. This new airport will be the new home of Ethiopian Airlines and will pave the way for significant growth. The current airport has a capacity of 25 million passengers per year, while the new airport would quadruple this capacity to 100 million.
I’m very excited to see how this project develops. A lot can still change and airport construction projects are rarely on time. Still, it’s something to look forward to…
What do you think about the plans for a new airport in Addis Ababa?
