Ethiopian Airlines to build mega airport with annual capacity of 100 million passengers

ADDID ABABA ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines and international consulting firm Dar Al-Handassa on Friday signed an agreement to design and supervise a new mega airport to be built near the town of Bishoftu, some 42 km east of Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mesfin Tasev said at a briefing that the new airport will have the capacity to handle 100 million passengers per year and provide parking facilities for 270 aircraft, reports Xinhua news agency. “The new four-runway airport will be the largest airport in Africa when construction is completed in 2029,” Tasev told reporters. He highlighted that by launching a mega airport project, the airline is writing a new chapter in its aviation history.

The CEO said Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, currently the main hub of Africa’s largest airline, will soon reach its capacity to serve 25 million passengers per year. “The new mega airport is a five-year project that will be finalized in 2029. It will have two phases and upon completion of the first phase with two runways, the airport will have the capacity to handle 60 million passengers annually,” Tasev said. According to him, the first phase alone will cost the airline at least $6 billion and the money will come in the form of loans from companies that have already shown interest.

Ethiopian Airlines carried 17.1 million passengers in the 2023/2024 financial year and is expected to carry 20 million passengers in the new financial year starting July 8, 2024. The new airport, which will be built on a total area of ​​35 square kilometers, will include shopping and hotel facilities. Once the design of the project is completed, tenders will be issued for the construction of the mega airport.