Addis Ababa Airport

Not Verified | Flew Ethiopian to Cairo, 22.30, May 17th. This is in the evening rush hour in Addis when most of the Ethiopian jet fleet are setting off to fly to all five major continents. The newly finished extension to T2 is now finished. It is huge and a massive improvement to previous years. There is loads of extra space, chairs, loungers and cafes. Shops much the same as before. There is also the new pay on the day lounge, which I used. $30 minimum charge for 3 hours, up to 80 for 8 hours. (Cash or cards) Price includes, at that time, a very nice buffet meal with drinks. Lounges are not huge, with TV on soccer suits me if not all. Showers. There is now a long walk from Immigration exit check at and security check at western end of departures zone to the C gates at the eastern end. A bit far for the elderly. No longer a second check at the gate entrance. plenty of TV screens with flight lists. Boarding smooth and well organised. I also fly Addis to Bahir Dar at least once a month and such flights always excellent. Sometimes two flights are merged in current demand situation but you get good notice by text message. These days there are 8 to 10 Addis Bahir Dar flights today as BD is in effect now the second city, and a very nice one at that.

Not Verified | Not the worst Airport in the world. I did not know what to expect when I arrived at Addis Ababa Airport. 90% of the reviews were so poor that I expected the worst. I arrived at terminal. 2 and departed at terminal 2. Compared to many other airports in Africa, like Abidjan, Luanda and Accra, this one is quite good. Everything is easy and I find the personnel friendly. WIFI was a bit soso, slow and unreliable. Ok, maybe covid/Corona is making it easier, because I do not find the airport crowded. All in all, it has been a good experience.

✅ Trip Verified | I transited in Addis Ababa from Johannesburg to Paris and was pretty disappointed. The airport is pretty small and feels old and dirty. I got scammed at one of the restaurants in one of the lounges there. Not a nice experience but luckily it was only a few hours.

Not Verified | These reviews are in good standing to make an anxious soul feel wrecked about the possibility that they have to go through Addis Ababa Airport, but honestly it is not at all bad. I went through it in December 2020 so I landed and passed through the new terminal. The staff were polite and very quick, I went through security in a matter of 1 minute and I did not have problems. The terminal is not big, so you do not get lost. Due to Covid, I suspect it was much less crowded than usual, but one should not think that they are going to come upon a kiosk instead of an airport and actually for a developing country I have to think it was great. The toilets were all clean and, in all, nothing weird happened. I also liked how they are installing an additional security system before you get out to the gates. The one thing that did not work was the WiFi. It did not at all work and my data only worked for 1 minute, so be prepared for this.

Not Verified | Shocking, absolutely disgusting the airport is filthy. Nobody smokes in the smoking boxes so the airport reeks of smoke. There is no edible food available to purchase. The staff are incompetent and rude. Definitely do not recommend.

✅ Trip Verified | Truly awful and disorganized. Ethiopian was incompetent and couldn't board in a timely manner so we missed our connecting flight. We had to go stand at the transfer desk for 3 hours to get flights out. We had people piled on top of each other, jumping on top of you and shoving to the front. Staff didn't help with queing and would allow Ethiopian passport holders to trample you, cough and sneeze in your face and then serve them first. For the country to even claim they are screening for corona is laughable after the transfer center nightmare. They crammed several hundred international arrivals into an area meant to hold maybe 50 people for hours.

Not Verified | After reading the various reviews, I was expecting a nightmare. But it was actually rather pleasant. Yes, we went through three scanners and security points, and were not able to take the water we bought ($1, but watch where you shop as some sell for $2) but the shops were pleasant to wander around while passing time. The shops are expensive, but you are a captive audience. This is the same in every airport. Plenty of seating and the lounge beds are a nice touch (free if you can get one) the toilets are fine and clean. Not holes in the ground, but don’t have a seat. This suits me as I not sit on public toilets no matter where I am in the world. Easy to navigate and staff friendly. I have heard that Saturday evening can be chaotic, but on a Wednesday evening, it was busy, but not hectic. This airport is no worse than many European airports.

Not Verified | I have passed through Addis probably over a dozen times since 2016. I am by parts confused and shocked by some of the reviews here, which appear to expect Ethiopia to have a calming oasis of modernity in a rapidly developing country. Yes, the queues for security are long, but the staff (who are paid a pittance, remember) do their best. Simply suck it up and wait. We are all tired (including the staff) and you will eventually pass through security. If you are not used to airports in some developing countries, it's just how it is sometimes. Occasionally, yes, Addis is a complete nightmare, but on other ocassions, everything is smooth. I've had very quick transfers, and the Ethiopian staff have always been prepared for late connection arrivals etc. Never missed a connection here, even with a 20 minutes window. If you look, there a not only plenty of seats, but there are vast expanses of floor to lounge around on. There are at least 4 small shops which sell drinks and hot snacks for between $1-$5 so anyone thinking theres a $15 minimum charge is insane, and has not been to Addis. Its chaotic, yes, but hey, so what. Its appallingly organised, but such is life. Its difficult to navigate, and staff (but more often fellow passengers) are rude, but cest la vie. The concept of customer service is a very low priority here, so accept that and move on. Just because you are flying through an international airport, you shouldn't expect phenomenal standards in developing regions. Addis is crap, yes, but its certainly very bearable, and compared to some of the absolute hellholes I have been to, its positively divine. Stop moaning about it, and suck it up for what it is - a badly designed, appallingly resourced, ridiculously busy African hub, which is staffed by underpaid people who deal with thousands of privileged passengers daily. Has it got all the stuff you might need? Lets see: Toilets - yes (bad but they are there), Water - yes for $1 a bottle literally anywhere in the airport, Space - yes, to the left of the main departure security entry theres loads of chairs and space. Food - small shops, 2 restaurant/bars and 1 chinese restaurant where you can get noodles for next to nothing. There is plenty to eat for between $2-$5. Wifi - yep - its intermittent and bad but hey ho. Lounges - yes, several, all a bit poor, but so what. If you need anything more on a transit stopover, you need to organise yourself a bit better. Stop decrying Addis for utterly nonsensical and uber-privileged reasons!

✅ Trip Verified | Addis Ababa airport is still a very unworthy hub for the otherwise decent Ethiopian Airlines. Terminal 2 is reasonably modern and clean but hopelessly overcrowded with endless lines everywhere. Not enough seating, too few security check and immigration counters, too few food and drink outlets, too few of everything. But this is still great against dirty old Terminal 1 which is put to shame by any random African bus station. There is construction work going for a new terminal. So maybe there is hope for improvement in the future.

✅ Trip Verified | Very disappointing. The airport is modern and clean but not big enough to handle the volume going through it. Result is queues everywhere. The airport has poor internal signposting so you have to keep asking harassed staff where to go. Do not use it for a layover. First you queue for a hotel voucher. That queue is not too bad. Then you queue for immigration - since there are no transit hotels, you must enter Ethiopia to sleep. The immigration queues are /very/ slow - more than 40 minutes. I had heard good things about Ethiopian but I will be avoiding transit through Addis in future, if I can help it.