Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) is Ethiopia’s most important airport, serving as a key gateway for both international and domestic flights. Located in the national capital, it plays a crucial role in the Ethiopian aviation industry and economy.
According to simpleflying.com, Ethiopian Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, has the largest presence at the airport. However, other airlines also have a significant presence there. Plenty of other airlines service ADD from all over the world. But which foreign carriers fly to ADD the most? Let’s find out.
The top five
Kenya Airways
Kenya and Ethiopia share a border, and many people travel between the two countries. As a result, Kenya Airways takes first place and has the most flights to ADD by a large margin. The airline operates 101 flights per month to ADD from all over Kenya.
Though it features the most flights, it offers fewer seats than other airlines on the list. Kenya Airways offers 9,696 seats per month, putting it in fourth place out of twelve other airlines in terms of seats offered. In addition, the shorter overall distance between the flights also means that its Available Seat Miles (ASMs) are low, at only 6.97 million.
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Saudi Arabia is a popular destination for migrant workers from Ethiopia and around the world. As a result, many Ethiopians travel to and from the country. Saudi Arabian Airlines offers direct flights to ADD to capture a lucrative market share.
Therefore, Saudi Arabian Airlines comes in at number two, offering 74 flights for June to ADD. It also leads airlines in terms of the number of seats. It provides 24,473, primarily thanks to the use of widebody aircraft such as the Airbus A330-300 on the route.
Saudi Arabian Airlines is third in terms of ASMs to ADD. Flights to Ethiopia account for 21.99 million ASMs.
Flydubai
The United Arab Emirates is another popular destination for Ethiopian migrant workers. Many workers prefer to fly on budget airlines due to the cheaper fares. The airline lands at ADD twice daily and flies to the airport 60 times in June.
The airline is third in the number of seats offered, with 11,340. The airline uses smaller Boeing 737-800s on these flights, which results in less capacity than its competitors. In addition, the route also accounts for 17.71 million ASMs.
Egypt Air
Egypt Air is tied for third place with flydubai. The airline at ADD twice daily, allowing it to operate 60 flights to Ethiopia’s capital in June. Egypt is a popular tourist destination, and tourists often head to other African countries from Egypt. As a result, the airline has a significant presence in Ethiopia.
Though it is tied for third place with the number of flights offered, the airline lags behind flydubai and others regarding seats offered, with only 9,240 seats, ranking sixth overall. The reason is that the airline uses mainly narrowbody aircraft on the route, similar to flydubai. However, many of Egypt Air’s aircraft are not configured in a high-density configuration, unlike those operated by flydubai.
Emirates
In fourth place is Emirates, which operated 52 flights to Addis Ababa in June. However, regarding monthly seats, the Dubai-based carrier stands in third place with 18,372 seats, thanks to its use of widebody aircraft, specifically the Boeing 777-300ER.
Because it utilizes larger aircraft, it doesn’t have to fly the route as often. That is why it is lower on the list than flydubai, which flies to ADD more often but offers fewer seats than Emirates.
Another result of having more seats is that the ASM goes up significantly. The route provides the airline with 28.69 million ASMs for this month.
Flynas
Rounding out the top five is Saudi Arabia’s first budget carrier, Flynas. The airline operates 50 flights to ADD in June. The Ethiopian capital is one of 51 international destinations the airline serves. It is one of the most consistent routes for the airline, again thanks to the travel of migrant workers from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia.
The airline operates narrowbody aircraft on the route, so the number of seats and ASMs is low. For June, it only offered 8,500 seats and 8.81 million ASMs.
The rest
The remaining six airlines are Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Freedom Airline Express, Badr Airlines, Virgin Australia, and Yemenia Yemen Airways. They have a combined 133 flights with 21,936 seats and 35.64 million ASMs.
Almost all the airlines that operate the most flights to ADD are from the surrounding countries in Africa and the Middle East. Few carriers from other continents, such as Europe, fly to ADD. Instead, they codeshare most of their flights to airlines like Emirates, which is why they are so high on the list.
The big picture
The table below shows the carriers with the most flights to and from ADD. Cirium, an aviation analytics company, provided the data forecast for June 2024.
