Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday officially began the construction of a $12.5 billion airport, which will be Africa’s biggest when it is completed in 2030. The state-owned airline will build the four-runway airport in the town of Bishoftu, 28 miles from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia has strikingly beautiful landscapes. But it does not have that much tourism yet, because of ongoing civil wars in various parts of the country, and bad roads that make it hard to travel from one place to another. South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania all have bigger tourism industries than Ethiopia.
But many people are expected to stop in Ethiopia before taking connecting flights to other countries in Africa, the Middle East, or Europe. People who fly from China to Rome sometimes stop in Ethiopia’s capital before traveling on to Rome.
Despite being state-owned, Ethiopian Airlines has been competently run for decades. That was true even under the former communist government of Ethiopia, which slaughtered hundreds of thousands of its own citizens in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history,” said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The airport will have space to park 270 planes and the ability to carry 110 million passengers a year.
That is more than four times the capacity of Ethiopia’s current main airport, which will reach its limits on existing traffic in the next three years.
The airline’s Director of Infrastructure Development, Abraham Tesfaye, said the airline would fund 30% of the cost of building the airport, while lenders would finance the rest. Ethiopian Airways has already earmarked $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year. The main contractors are slated to begin construction next August. The African Development Bank said it would loan $500 million and solicit $8.7 billion from other lenders.
“Lenders from Middle East, Europe, China and USA have shown strong interest” in the project, Ethiopian Airlines said.
“Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s biggest carrier. It added six extra routes in 2024/25, while revenues are also expanding,” notes Reuters.
The U.S. State Department warns people not to travel to Ethiopia outside its capital area, even though Ethiopia has strikingly beautiful mountains:
Reconsider travel to Ethiopia due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, crime, communications disruptions, terrorism and kidnapping in border areas.
Do Not Travel To:
- Tigray Region and border with Eritrea due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, and crime.
- Afar-Tigray border areas due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, and crime.
- Amhara Region due to sporadic violent conflict and civil unrest.
- Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz Regions due to crime, kidnapping, ethnically motivated violence, and sporadic violent conflict
- Oromia Region – Specific areas due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, and ethnically motivated violence.
- Southern Nations and National People (SNNP) Region due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, and ethnically motivated violence.
- Border area with Somalia due to terrorism, kidnapping, and landmines.
- Border areas with Sudan, and South Sudan due to crime, kidnapping, civil unrest, and sporadic violent conflict.
- Border areas with Kenya due to the potential for terrorism and ethnically motivated violence.
The security situation in Addis Ababa is stable. However, there is sporadic violent conflict and civil unrest in other areas of Ethiopia, and the security situation may deteriorate without warning. The U.S. Embassy is unlikely to be able to assist with departure from the country if the security situation deteriorates. Due to sporadic violent conflict and civil unrest throughout parts of Ethiopia, travel by U.S. government personnel is routinely assessed for additional restrictions.
