The connection trap: your bag leaves the system at Addis
Ethiopian Airlines states that passengers connecting to a domestic flight must clear customs and collect their baggage at Addis, even when it is checked through.
The rule that ruins connections
- Passengers continuing to an Ethiopian domestic destination must go through customs and clear their baggage at Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Airlines says so on its own travel update page - despite the bags being through-checked.
- So a 90 minute connection to Lalibela, Gondar or Bahir Dar is not 90 minutes. It is immigration, baggage reclaim, customs, re-check and domestic security.
- Budget three hours for a domestic connection at Bole, and more at a busy hour.
- This also means you need your visa even if you thought you were transiting, because you are entering the country to collect the bag.
Getting into the city
- Bole is about 6 km from the centre, which is unusually close for a hub airport.
- The FCDO's advice is to use only buses or taxis from the airport that have been organised by your hotel or travel company. That is stronger than the usual "book ahead" line and it is worth following on a first arrival.
- If you are taking a taxi anyway, choose a yellow one or an app-based one over the blue and white ones.
- Global Affairs Canada rates taxis in Ethiopia as generally unsafe, and advises against hailing on the street, sharing with strangers, or letting a driver pick up others on the way.
- Ride-hailing apps operate in Addis and are the practical version of "app-based taxi".
Rail
- Addis has a light rail system and Canada advises against using the railways as limited, slow, overcrowded and unreliable. It does not serve the airport.
The altitude
- Addis Ababa sits about 2,500 m above sea level. That is high enough for altitude illness, and high enough that a night flight followed by a hard day will feel worse than you expect.
- Take the first day slowly, drink water and go easy on alcohol. If your trip continues to the Simiens, this is your acclimatisation day and it is a gift.
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