Bole International Airport
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (IATA: ADD, ICAO: HAAB) serves the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The airport is located in the Bole area, 6 km (3.7 mi) south east of Addis Ababa City Centre and 65 km (40 mi) north of Debre Zeyit. Formerly known as Haile Selassie I International Airport, it is the main hub of Ethiopian Airlines, the national airline which has service to destinations in Ethiopia and throughout the African continent, as well as nonstop service to Asia, Europe, and North America. Bole International Airport has been viewed by many carriers as a gateway to Africa, thus making it a potential connecting airport to other parts of Africa via Ethiopian Airlines' African network. It is a hub for many local chartered flights. It is also one of the main pilot training and aircraft maintenance centers in Africa.
Bole International Airport is one of the busiest airports in Africa with 3,497,847 passengers recorded in 2009. To accommodate the growing traffic volume, Bole airport has become the third largest airport in Africa by area. By 2011, the airport had become the 3rd busiest airport in the Africa by cargo traffic, registering 2,420,997 tonnes. The airport is capable of accommodating the Airbus A380-800.
In 2003, a new international passenger terminal opened, one of the largest on the continent. This accompanied the completion of a new runway, which, at 4,725 metres (15,502 ft), is one of the longest in Africa. It compares with OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, whose longest runway measures 4,418 metres (14,495 ft). The runway after completion will be used by both the civilian airport and the Ethiopian Air Force whose new base will be situated on the southern side of the runway. Cargo, hangar and hotel construction expansion is underway by Chinese state-owned companies.
Ethiopian Airlines passengers are offered two lounges at Bole International Airport. Cloud Nine passengers can wait for the departure of flights at the Cloud Nine Lounge, where they are provided with a wide variety of amenities, as well as personal computers or wireless connection.
The air traffic growth at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport has prompted the Ethiopian Airport Enterprise to plan to build a new international airport between Modjo and Meki towns on the Hawassa road. Bole International Airport will be used for regional flights, VIP flights and for those who are involved in general aviation services (private airlines who provide none schedule flights). The new airport would accommodate long haul international flights. The Addis Ababa Bole International Airport currently accommodates more than 150 flights per day.
The Enterprise has informed the Ethiopian Roads Authority to consider the plan to build the new international airport in developing new road network. The enterprise wants ERA to build a new road that stretches from Addis Ababa to the new airport and the road to Hawassa via Zequala Bishoftu
Read more about Bole International Airport: Gates, Airlines and Destinations, Accidents and Incidents
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)