Forty kilometres south of Addis Ababa, work has begun on one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken in African aviation. Laying the foundation stone for the project on 10 January, a beaming Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the construction of Bishoftu International Airport “aligns with Ethiopia’s national economic reforms, industrialisation agenda and long-term aviation strategy”. The project will, he added, “strengthen Ethiopian Airlines’ global competitiveness, enhance Africa’s connectivity under the AfCFTA [African Continental Free Trade Area] framework, expand trade and tourism corridors and position Ethiopia as a premier intercontinental hub”.
The new airport, which is set to open its doors in 2030, is intended to relieve pressure on Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, where passenger numbers are approaching its capacity of 25m per year. Bishoftu is designed to handle 60m passengers a year in its first phase. Future expansion is projected to raise its capacity to 110m, with four runways and space for 270 aircraft.
State-owned Ethiopian Airlines Group is responsible for delivering the project, with 30% of funding to come from its balance sheet. The African Development Bank is set to contribute $500m and is the mandated lead arranger to mobilise loan financing on a blended finance basis from development finance institutions and export credit agencies, alongside commercial lenders. The US government’s International Development Finance Corporation has also announced that it will help to finance the airport.
The renowned firm Zaha Hadid Architects has designed the new airport. In a statement unveiling its vision in January, the firm said its design reflected the need to serve transit passengers, which are set to make up 80% of the hub airport’s footfall. Facilities for transiting passengers will include hotels, dining and entertainment facilities, along with outdoor relaxation spaces.
A single spine “inspired by the Great Rift Valley” will connect all the airport’s facilities and its four aircraft piers, helping to minimise transit times.
There is little doubt that the new airport will be one of the most significant transport facilities ever built in Africa. The bigger question is how it will reshape air travel on the continent.
Ready for take-off
The first phase of the project comes with an expected price tag of $12.5bn. Few would be surprised if the estimate proves to be conservative, given the massive cost overruns at other major airport projects around the world. A 2023 study estimated that 90% of large infrastructure schemes end up exceeding their budget, by an average of 28%.
This raises the question of whether the huge investment is justified, given that Ethiopian Airlines is excelling at its existing base in Bole, while Ethiopia is already established as the region’s leading air travel hub.
Aviation analyst Chidozie Uzoezie is convinced that the answer is yes. “With rising passenger and cargo demand, alongside the rapid expansion of Ethiopian Airlines, the need for a new facility has become urgent,” he says. The capacity at Bishoftu is needed to address “both immediate and future infrastructure needs”.
Uzoezie adds that Bishoftu will bring other benefits for airlines at the new hub. “Bishoftu’s lower altitude will come with significant operational advantages over Bole,” he says.
Bishoftu is 1,910 metres above sea level, compared to 2,334 metres at Bole – making it one of the highest major airports in the world. Taking off at a higher altitude is problematic, since the lower air density means wings generate less lift.
Aircraft therefore need to accelerate for longer on the runway, then climb at a slower rate. All this adds to costs by increasing fuel consumption and reducing each plane’s maximum payload and how far it can fly before refuelling.
As a result, Uzoezie says, the airport will offer improved payload and fuel efficiency, especially on long-haul flights that require larger volumes of fuel. This means Ethiopian and other airlines will be able to offer non-stop flights to more destinations.
“I firmly believe that if Ethiopian Airlines sustains its current growth momentum and Bishoftu successfully establishes itself as a vital aviation hub, the investment will yield significant economic and connectivity benefits,” says Uzoezie.
Ethiopian Airlines employees pose for a group photo in front of a Boing 737 MAX on the tarmac of the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa on February 1, 2022. (Photo by Robbie BOULET / AFP)
A global hub?
The planned scale of Bishoftu suggests that the airport is intended to compete as a truly global hub. If its expected capacity were fully utilised, the airport would be one of the very busiest in the world. By comparison, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the US had a capacity of 63m in 2025, with Dubai International just behind at 62.4m. Qatar’s Hamad International Airport, serving Doha, had a capacity of 32.7m.
Like Dubai and Doha, Bishoftu’s geographic position means it is theoretically well positioned to connect destinations throughout Africa, Asia and Europe.
But Uzoezie warns that the new facility will face “significant challenges” in competing with the Middle Eastern hubs for the foreseeable future.
“I believe Bishoftu could serve effectively as a major transit hub within Africa,” he says. “However, it’s unlikely to compete realistically with Dubai and Doha on a global scale, especially since these airports are also implementing aggressive expansion and modernisation programmes.”
Dubai’s world-leading passenger numbers reflect its role as not only a hub for connecting flights, but also its status as a major tourism and business destination in its own right.
By contrast, international tourism in Ethiopia is far more nascent.
Concerns over security and political stability could also limit Bishoftu’s attraction as an international hub. After all, it is less than five years since Tigray-based forces advanced to within touching distance of Addis Ababa during their devastating conflict with the federal government.
As recently as January, flights between Addis and Tigray were suspended amid renewed tensions.
“I think you have to pick your battles,” says global aviation consultant John Grant. He is also sceptical that Ethiopian Airlines can use Bishoftu as a platform to challenge Emirates or Qatar Airways.
He points out that these Gulf giants benefit from access to home markets filled with high-net-worth individuals who are willing to pay for first-class fairs. Ethiopian lacks this advantage, and has instead focused on offering competitive business class rates to fuel its growth.
Ethiopian Airlines rules the skies
While Bishoftu will have its work cut out to dislodge the dominance of Dubai and other Middle Eastern hubs, the new facility could certainly help cement Ethiopian’s position as the leading carrier on the African continent.
Ethiopian is already far ahead of its key continental rivals, Grant notes. Aviation data provider OAG (Official Airline Guide) reports that the company offered 1.8m seats on departing flights in February 2026.
This marks a 5.4% year-on-year increase, bringing Ethiopian’s capacity to almost double that of the next largest carrier in Africa, South African budget airline FlySafair, which concentrates on domestic and select regional routes in Southern Africa.
Ethiopian Airlines “can reinforce that, and they can grow that position,” says Grant. “They are Africa’s airline. They serve the most destinations, they’ve got the right aircraft sizes, they’ve got the frequency… That’s a very good position to have,” he adds. “Africa is a big continent, and it’s got a lot of demand and will grow in the future.”
Although Ethiopian is fully state-owned, it has long been run as a commercial operation. Unlike many of its rivals, the carrier has largely steered clear of political interference or mismanagement.
Kenyan Airways, for example, which until around 15 years ago was a close competitor of Ethiopian, embarked on an overly ambitious expansion plan in the 2010s that ended up bringing the airline to the brink of financial ruin.
The extra capacity at Bishoftu, compared to Bole, gives Ethiopian further options as it seeks to add routes and increase passenger numbers.
Grant says Ethiopian may seek to add new “hub waves”, where arriving and departing flights are timed to allow for easy transfers, at some point in the future. Yet in the shorter term, more capacity will allow the airline to densify its current waves. This is a lower risk strategy, he says.
“By growing the footprint of the new airport, by having more capacity, they can build more into those peak hours, which makes more sense for them, and de-risk the whole investment.”
An Ethiopian Airlines aeroplane is photographed at the Bole International Airport, in Addis Ababa, on March 17, 2020. (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP)
Continental connectivity
For both business and leisure travellers, the cost and difficulty of flying between major African cities has long been a source of frustration. Passengers on intra-African journeys often complain of having to take circuitous routes via Europe or the Middle East to reach their destinations.
Could Bishoftu provide relief for Africa’s long-suffering travellers? Ethiopian would certainly like to think that the new hub will prove instrumental in connecting the continent. “This is truly a proud moment for Ethiopian Airlines and for all of Africa,” said the airline’s CEO Mesfin Tasew at the ground-breaking ceremony. “Bishoftu International Airport is a major step towards addressing the infrastructural gap in Africa.”
It would be a stretch, however, to imagine that Bishoftu will truly be a game changer in improving connectivity at a continental level. A denser hub-and-spoke network cannot substitute for the more frequent direct connections that are needed between African cities. Uzoezie expects that Bishoftu’s biggest impact could be in its role as a hub for intercontinental traffic; the site will be the natural option for European passengers, for example, as they transit to destinations throughout Africa.
“I believe that Bishoftu International Airport’s true potential lies in its role as an intercontinental transit hub, attracting significant international traffic, rather than serving as a mega regional hub for intra-African flights,” he concludes.