Connecting at Addis Ababa Bole airport

Connection time calculator, immigration and security, and how to move between terminals at ADD.

How connections work at ADD

At Addis Ababa Bole airport, passengers connecting between two international flights can usually stay in the transit area without going through immigration. If you connect from an international to a domestic flight, you enter the country here: you go through immigration and collect and re-check your bags.

The airport has 2 terminals or concourses (Terminal 2 (international), Terminal 1 (domestic)). They are not connected after security: changing means going through security again.

Connecting passengers go through a transfer security screening.

Connection time calculator

Is your layover at ADD long enough? Pick your connection and get an estimate with the times of this airport.

Terminals / concourses: Terminal 2 (international), Terminal 1 (domestic)

Getting between them: Walking outdoors through the public area between Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 (about 300 m)

All international flights use Terminal 2, and international-to-international transfers stay there: follow the International Transfer signs to the transfer security checkpoint. Terminal 1 handles domestic flights only; it is about 300 metres away and reached on foot through the outdoor public area.

International to domestic: visa on arrival or passport control, then you collect your bags and check them in again at the domestic counter at the end of the international arrivals hall before walking to Terminal 1.

  • Transfer security queues are usually 20 to 30 minutes; an international-to-international transfer takes 25 to 45 minutes on average.
  • Flights from gates A14 to A19 (mainly to Europe, the USA, Canada and Israel) have an extra security check.
  • If you have no boarding pass for your connecting flight, get it at the transfer check-in counter before security.

Estimate based on typical times at this airport, not your airline's official minimum connection time. Immigration and security lines change with the time of day and season. On a single ticket, the airline must rebook you if you miss the connection; on separate tickets, it does not.

Sources: cestee.com.

Times are estimates: always check with your airline.

More about ADD

Airport guide Departures Arrivals