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Following the collapse of South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, with its hub at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, has become the primary carrier connecting the vast Sub-Saharan African continent. This has proven so successful that it is set to outgrow its hub despite the airport receiving repeated expansions.
As such, work has now started on building the massive new Bishoftu International Airport outside of Addis Ababa. Although Ethiopia’s sovereign credit rating remains deep in speculative territory (Moody’s Caa3), Ethiopian Airlines has continued to finance rapid fleet expansion.
That has been possible because the airline occupies a unique strategic niche in the African market, has remained consistently profitable, generates substantial operating cash flow, and is managed largely by career aviation professionals. It has also historically operated with relatively limited political interference. Those strengths have also helped underpin the financing and credibility of the much larger Bishoftu airport project alongside government and external investment.
Ethiopia’s New Bishoftu International Airport
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia is already the largest and most connected hub in sub-Saharan Africa. I flew through it in 2025 for both domestic and international flights. The airport is comparatively modern and is good for the region. With that being said, the domestic terminal is rather cramped. The airport is easy to get to as it is located reasonably close to the capital city of Addis Ababa.
However, as a sign of the ambitions of Ethiopian Airlines, this airport is set to be replaced by the much larger Bishoftu International Airport. That airport is expected to open in 2030. Bishoftu International Airport broke ground in January 2026 and is to be the future hub of Ethiopian Airlines. At around 6,227 feet or 1,898 meters above sea level, it will also be one of the highest large hubs in the world by altitude.
The airport will have two runways and the capacity for 60 million passengers annually. There are plans for it to eventually grow to have a capacity of 110 million passengers, which is comparable to the number of passengers Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson receives annually. The scale of the project is remarkable for sub-Saharan Africa.
By comparison, Addis Ababa Bole handled about 12 million passengers in 2024, while O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, traditionally the region’s busiest airport, handled around 20 million. Bishoftu is therefore being built not merely for current demand, but for Ethiopian Airlines’ ambition to become one of the world’s leading global connecting carriers.
Addis Ababa: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Big Hub
Ethiopian Airlines is already connected with much of Sub-Saharan Africa through its Addis Ababa hub. These are frequently fifth-freedom flights and flights that will often make multiple stops in a single country. Ethiopian is helping to connect the continent in a way that it hasn’t been connected before, especially after the collapse of South African Airways.
However, it’s not just the many destinations in Africa that Ethiopian serves: from Addis Ababa, it connects the continent with many destinations in the Middle East, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, Europe, and even North and South America. This has created an oddity where it is often cheaper to fly with Ethiopian across the continent, change planes in Addis Ababa, and then fly back rather than take a 30-minute direct flight.
As of the time of writing, three days a week it’s possible to fly direct between the Republic of Congo’s Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kinshasa with ASKY (a partial subsidiary of Ethiopian). These cities are notable for being the closest capital cities in the world, separated only by the Congo River. The direct distance between the two airports is 16 miles (26 kilometers). The other four days a week, the best option is to fly 10 hours and 30 minutes with Ethiopian to Addis Ababa and back.
Ethiopia Is A Country Of Contradictions
With a population of over 100 million, Ethiopia is one of the largest countries in Africa and a bewildering set of contradictions. On the one hand, it has some of the best infrastructure in Africa and has proven it is able to build and maintain a world-class airline. It has been able to complete large infrastructure programs, like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile.
It has also invested in transforming downtown Addis Ababa, with images of select districts now appearing online, showcasing successful Africa. In 2024, Ethiopia also banned or heavily restricted the importation of gas and diesel cars as it rapidly transitions to electric cars powered by its new dam.
However, almost immediately out of the city, the roads are so bad that electric cars are largely unable to operate. There is often no electricity to charge the cars out of the city. Horse and cart taxis are a common mode of transport beyond the city limits.
I also visited the northern cities of Mekele and Axum in 2025. In 2022, the civil war in Ethiopia in the Tigray region was the world’s deadliest war (more than Ukraine). Prewar, all across the region, there had been the rapid building of cities, wind farms, and roads. When I visited in 2025, all had stopped, and gasoline was in short supply in the region. Localized civil wars routinely pop up around the country, and for me it was unclear if the airport would remain open to get the return flight to Addis Ababa.
Political Instability
It is within this difficult political environment that Bishoftu International Airport is being built. The $12.5 billion project is expected to be financed through a mixture of equity and debt, with state-owned Ethiopian Airlines contributing roughly 20–30% of the equity while the African Development Bank is leading arrangements for the much larger debt package. The wider security picture remains fragile.
At the same time, the Federal Government in Addis Ababa faces an insurgency in its Amhara region and the looming risk of a renewed conflict in its Tigray region, with conflicts often arising in its large Oromia region. Analysts have also warned of growing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, including disputes linked to Ethiopia’s long-standing desire for greater access to the Red Sea (Eritrea’s port of Assab).
Ethiopian Airlines fleet (per Planespotters.net) | In service | On order |
|---|---|---|
ATR 42 / 72 | 2 | none |
Airbus A350 | 26 | 17 |
Boeing 737 | 49 | 45 |
Boeing 767 | 3 | none |
Boeing 777 | 23 | 8 |
Boeing 787 | 30 | 26 |
De Havilland Dash 8-400/DHC-6 Twin Otter | 32 | none |
Perhaps more worryingly, there are signs that Ethiopia is being dragged into the quagmire of the Sudanese Civil War. At the same time, Ethiopia has begun construction of a second dam on the Blue Nile. Egypt has previously threatened to intervene militarily to stop Ethiopia from constructing these dams.
At the very least, there is the risk that political instability and more urgent matters may delay the project. Having said that, Ethiopia has managed to build its ambitious dam on the Blue Nile in the face of these issues.
The Expansion Of Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines is wholly owned by the Ethiopian government (via Ethiopian Investment Holdings), but operates largely on a self-sustaining commercial basis and does not rely on ongoing government subsidies. Group Chief Executive Officer Tewolde GebreMariam told Tuko in 2022 that “it is owned by the government, but it is fully managed by professionals. No single cent comes from the government. No sovereign guarantees.”
Currently, Ethiopian Airlines has a fleet of 168 airliners (including cargo aircraft). It has 26 Airbus A350s, 11 Boeing 777s, and 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner widebody aircraft in service. It also has 17 more A350s, eight Boeing 777X, and 26 Boeing 787s on order. One of the common themes of Sub-Saharan airlines is that they struggle to secure the credit rating needed to finance extremely expensive new airliners.
This doesn’t seem to be an issue with Ethiopian, allowing it to have one of the most modern fleets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopian’s orders for new aircraft (which also include narrowbodies) align well with its airport expansion plans. From its fleet of around 170 aircraft today, it should have around 270–300+ aircraft by the mid-2030s and over 300, perhaps up to 350 by 2040.
Tripling Addis Ababa Traffic By The Mid-2030s
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has said that “Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history.” It will eventually have more than four times the capacity of the current airport, which is expected to reach its capacity limit in the next two to three years. Meanwhile, passenger growth continues, Ethiopian is receiving more aircraft, and it added six extra routes in 2024/2025.
Ethiopian Airlines is already the largest airline in Africa and is aiming to see traffic roughly triple at its main hub from current levels by the mid-2030s. Passenger numbers could reach around 60 million. At the same time, events are happening in Ethiopia and the broader Horn of Africa and Sahel zone outside of its control.
The airline managed to weather the early 2020s, when the regional Tigray army broke the Federal Army and almost marched on Addis Ababa. However, the issues have not been resolved. As of now, only part of the needed funds have been raised, and Reuters writes that”the African Development Bank, which last August said it would lend $500 million and lead efforts to raise $8.7 billion.” Time will tell if Africa’s new major airport hub will manage to stay on course and open on schedule in 2030.
