The upgrade supports the airline\u2019s role as Africa\u2019s leading carrier, offering more than 200 domestic flights a day and anchoring Ethiopia\u2019s ambition to become the continent\u2019s aviation hub.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa on Thursday, Mered Fikireyohannes, Chief Executive Officer of Pragma Investment Advisory, said the expansion was driven by rising domestic travel and capacity constraints at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. \u201cThe airport is operating at full capacity, handling around 19 million passengers annually,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause of insecurity in some regions, many travellers are choosing to fly rather than use road transport, putting added pressure on domestic routes.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ethiopian Airlines\u2019 dominance in the domestic aviation sector, combined with the government\u2019s airport\u2011building efforts in regional centres, has fuelled significant increases in passenger traffic. \u201cIt is sometimes difficult to secure a domestic ticket within a week,\u201d Fikireyohannes noted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The domestic expansion forms part of a broader growth strategy that includes the proposed Bishoftu International Airport, a mega\u2011project expected to accommodate up to 110 million passengers upon completion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will position Ethiopian Airlines far ahead of regional competitors like Kenya Airways and South African Airways,\u201d Fikireyohannes said. The first phase, due by 2028 or early 2029, is designed to handle 60 million passengers a year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ethiopian Airlines already holds minority stakes in multiple African airlines, including in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and countries in East, West and Central Africa, enhancing its regional reach.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Ethiopian government is in discussions with the Export\u2013Import Bank of China to finance the new airport, which is expected to cost $9 billion. Fikireyohannes said lenders view Ethiopian Airlines as a highly credible borrower. \u201cThe airline has its own balance sheet, its own credit rating and contributes nearly 10% to Ethiopia\u2019s gross domestic product,\u201d he said. \u201cCreditors are not worried about default.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ethiopian Airlines plans to create a special\u2011purpose vehicle to raise funds at commercial rates rather than seeking concessional loans. Chinese contractors, with a strong record of airport construction, are seen as frontrunners if they can also supply financing through export credit arrangements.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":29293,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-29292","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Ethiopian Airlines has launched a $50\u2011million expansion of its domestic terminal in Addis Ababa, more than doubling capacity as passenger demand continues to surge.","published_date":"","news_description":"Ethiopian Airlines has launched a $50\u2011million expansion of its domestic terminal in Addis Ababa, more than doubling capacity as passenger demand continues to surge.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/29292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/29292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29294,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/29292\/revisions\/29294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=29292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}