CNN Features Ethiopia's Mega Airport Project Set to Transform African Aviation

Addis Ababa, August 4, 2026 (ENA) — The Cable News Network (CNN) has featured the hugely anticipated Ethiopian Airlines' major expansion project designed to expand the country's aviation capacity and strengthen its role as a major air transport hub in Africa.

The airline, described by the host as one of Africa's most successful carriers connecting the continent to destinations around the world, is planning its next major expansion.

The state-of-the-art Bishoftu International Airport, with a price tag of more than 12 billion USD, will have a capacity of handling 110 million passengers per year and about 4 million tons of cargo.

"From diggers to excavators, bulldozers, and trucks, this is one of the largest building sites on the continent. This greenfield site is located about 40 km from Addis Ababa; and if everything goes to plan, by 2030, the state-of-the-art Bishoftu International Airport will stand here," Connecting Africa host Victoria Rubadiri reported.

The modern airport is set to be a major driver of the country's economic transformation.

Bishoftu International Airport Project General Manager, Abraham Tesfaye, told CNN that Bishoftu International Airport development will bring significant macro-economic development. ''It will basically support trade, it will facilitate tourism, it will make Bishoftu and the surrounding area, including Addis Ababa, a destination to come in the near future.''

Discussing the airline's expansion plans and the future of aviation on the continent, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Mesfin Tasew, said the economic capacity of the existing Bole International Airport is 25 million passengers, and within a year or two it will reach the maximum limit.

"That is why we decided to develop a new airport in another location. The new airport will help to develop the aviation industry further in Ethiopia and in the continent."

According to him, this Ethiopian fiscal year alone, Ethiopian Airlines has transported 20.7 million passengers. And when the passengers served by other airlines who fly here are added together, it is around 22 million passengers using this terminal per year.

Moreover, he noted that the airline would like to expand its network throughout the world, including into Europe and Africa.

"Africa is our home market—we will continue opening new routes into Africa and increasing frequencies as well."

In this regard, the CEO stressed that the AfCFTA is a promising initiative among African countries for coordinated economic growth. For AfCFTA to be successful, there should be a means for people and goods to move from one African country to another. So, the African air transport industry has to develop to play its part in enabling the AfCFTA initiative to be successful.

Bishoftu International Airport is designed to become Africa's largest aviation hub that serves up to 110 million passengers annually.