Addis Ababa Airport

✅ Verified Review | Addis Ababa airport keeps getting worse as traffic increases. It is dirty, smelly and overcrowded, especially in the morning and evening hours. The international terminal is a poorly maintained building, with water regularly leaking from the roofs. The whole terminal smells like cigarettes as the smoking areas are not properly closed. Duty free shops are unique among large hub airports: dirty, disorganised, with non-English speaking staff, they look more like informal street markets in downtown Addis than normal airport shops. I have had to haggle prices several times before abandoning, realising how ridiculous the situation was. Credit card machines hardly ever work. There is only one restaurant in the whole terminal - you can imagine what it's like at peak hours. Ethiopian Airlines lounges are equally dirty and overcrowded, with very dubious decoration taste. No wifi service or desktop Internet access, of course. The airport is being expanded but Ethiopian authorities need to re-think the customer service delivery to turn it into a truly modern hub - not only the raw infrastructure.

✅ Verified Review | The previous reviews of ADD give an accurate flavour, this is a 1980s airport trying to survive in modern world. Banners state that it is being modernised but I fear its the people and procedures that will remain that will shackle it. Insufficient seating means people on the floor, security is woefully slow so much it caused an hour delay on flight to lhr which must have lost Ethiopian Airlines £10+k's in extra fees at LHR. The duty free shops are overpriced and unfriendly, the whole place grubby and 2/3rd of the place stank of chinese cigarettes. Only EA have a business lounge and they dont accept Priority Pass so all this taken into account would make me choose another route if travelling with my young family, only using this because of being a solo traveller. EA seriously need to kick the airport company as it will undo all their efforts.

✅ Verified Review | Absolutely awful airport, although it has improved slightly since they contained smoking to the smoking lounges (and surrounding area). Was raining on my last visit and the roof was leaking which is normal. Toilets have a pleasant aroma to them, and they have stuck some more portacabins full of toilets in to increase the number. Staff surly, and not in the least bit helpful. Beware of random gate changes, or multiple flight assignments to the same gate number, especially on intra-African flights. This seems to happen all the time, and then chaos ensues as people are yelled at for being in the wrong line (although the display is telling them to be there).

✅ Verified Review | Addis Ababa Airport is the most disgusting airport I have ever been to. We had a 9 hr stay there which was ment to be 6 hours, but flight was delayed. No explanation as to why it was delayed until we boarded plane. The male staff going through security were very rude and miserable. No one knows what they are doing, not enough seating area and not very clean. In departure lounge no toilet facility which we though very odd, as having plane delayed we then had to go out of departure lounge to go to toilet then got through all security again so disorganised.

Well, what a disgusting airport. By using Ethopian Airlines, it was half the price of a British Airways flight for a small 2 hour stop over - so I could not see a reason to spend double. Every minute I stayed in this airport, standing as there is no where to sit and I did not trust the cleanliness of the floor, I wished I had bought the straight through flight from Heathrow to Cape Town. The toilets, after what looks like years of being moaned about on this site, still have never changed. No toilet paper or soap and fear of catching something. The shops have the most miserable workers in them who wouldn't help you at all and just point to someone else to serve you! Remarkable really the level of customer service in what looks to be a massive transit airport. The worst however is the ridiculousness of the security after duty free! No warning of this whatsoever and after buying duty free at Cape Town and Ethopian Airlines allowing me on the first plane with my wine, it now gets removed in "Adis Ababa as a security breach"! After what seems like an hour to get through security, there are absolutely no rules anywhere about this "breach" and looking at other posts they seem to just make it up from each day to the next. I'm never using this airport ever again. The smell of smoke is still in my clothes and all the staff need to go on a smiling course.

✅ Verified Review | We transferred at Addis Ababa on both the outward and return journey and while we found Ethiopian Airlines to be fine, they are very much let down by the airport which for us matched the worst of reviews here. I would be scared of traveling this way again. The first thing we noticed was the lack of timely and reliable information - electronic or in person. We were pointed at first in the right direction but then found that our gate was not made clear for a long time (they were changing the gate), and there were very few staff around to speak with. We were thirsty as we had not brought any local currency or US dollars, and cards were not accepted for small water purchases. There was no drinking water once you pass through into the gate area, except for in a little cordoned-off 'VIP' zone downstairs near Gate 1 (which we weren't entitled to). I was only glad that our flight was not delayed. The return transfer was worse - it was at night, heavily raining, and the roof was leaking in many places with trays put down to catch the drips. There are power shortages, and we had cuts of the lights and fans every so often. Water, which we had bought in Cape Town airport behind security, was confiscated when we went through Gate 14. What really made it a bad experience however was the queueing and security process which was so slow and disorganised. Queueing at Gate 14 was very slow, there were very few places to sit while queueing, and I was among a couple of dozen passengers who were selected for extra security checks with no explanation of why or how long it would take. My passport and boarding pass were held to take notes. I wasn't allowed to have my documents back or move on for about 40 minutes (some of those passengers selected later than me were processed before me), at which point I was put through a full body scanner, frisked, and my bag dusted for explosives. Even for those that were not held for security reasons, it took a long time to get everyone through the gate. The time for boarding then came and went with no announcement of delay (it turned out we had an additional half an hour wait while the plane was being prepared). The risk of being stuck at this airport would definitely make me prefer other routes. Also do not send anyone confused or vulnerable via this route.

✅ Verified Review | Addis Ababa airport is simply terrible. It seems to be the stop over for lots of long haul travellers and provides not nearly enough seats, so people sit and sleep on the floor! Worst of all is the glass 'cage' gates area where there is no provision whatsoever for food or drink. On our outbound journey we had to sit for three hours with no refreshments as we connected within the gates area. On our return journey we connected through the usual way, but hung around in the restaurants with all the sleeping people as we knew that if we went through security we would be without refreshments for a very long time. Furthermore, we were doubly annoyed by having to pass through security for a second time (even though we were connecting) and any water we had bought after security at the first airport (Harare) was taken away. Farcical. And if you are lucky enough to get a table in a restaurant and not have to sit on the floor, don't expect efficient service or the option of Visa, as half the machines don't work or the shops only want cash. Never again.

Arrived from LHR, 0545, Feb 2nd 2017. Arrived 45 minutes early on overnight Ethiopian Airbus 350 flight from London. Flight took only 6 hrs 30 minutes, brilliant. Airport clearance very quick and customer friendly. Bussed in from stand to Terminal 2. Immigration was excellent with more than enough staff so queue was very short. Bags arrived quickly though I was at carousel before them. Customs no problem so was out in public arrivals area within 25 mins of landing. Only complaint - why has Yellow Spot Cafe been removed leaving no choice of cafes as only one remains in arrivals.

Addis Ababa is an absolutely horrible airport. Overcrowded, the amount of seats is nowhere near enough, making many people stand / sit on the floor. Long layover times in general and very bad information about delayed flight. Toilet services were OK. I cannot rate food services as I did not use these.

Addis Ababa airport was an extremely brutal experience. The employees were very rude, disorganized and unhelpful. Going through customs was by far the worst experience I have ever had at any airport. Staff will not allow you to get your checked luggage without a Visa into the country, so I paid $50 just to get my bag and recheck it the first time I went through Addis. Coming back through this airport, they did not allow me to get my bag at all (even with a Visa). Many others had the exact same issue and were frustrated as well. I had a tour scheduled in Addis Ababa that I had already paid for and staff would not let me get my bag or go out of the airport to do my tour. Their answers to my questions were constantly changing and no one appeared to know what the real rules and regulations were. Also, the airport is under construction so there is no baggage storage anywhere. The airport is very crowded with no place to sit, the bathrooms are unclean, there is no wifi and my flights were delayed. It was a very difficult and unpleasant experience for me. In the future, I will try to avoid this airport at all costs.