Ethiopia and Australia are moving closer to a historic nonstop air connection just as Ethiopian Airlines breaks ground on a 12.5 billion dollar mega hub that aims to redefine aviation in Africa. The planned direct route between Addis Ababa and an Australian gateway, likely in the east of the country, would be a first for the two nations and would dovetail with the carrier’s long-term strategy to channel more Asia Pacific traffic through its new Bishoftu International Airport, now under construction outside the Ethiopian capital.
Direct Ethiopia Australia Link Moves From Aspiration To Agenda
Ethiopian and Australian aviation officials have been in exploratory talks over a direct air service that would connect Addis Ababa with one of Australia’s major cities, according to people familiar with the matter in both markets. While no route announcement has yet been published in official schedules, the discussions are understood to focus on a long-haul service that could launch in the second half of this decade, using Ethiopian Airlines’ growing fleet of fuel efficient widebody aircraft.
The prospective link would mark the first nonstop scheduled service between Ethiopia and Australia, ending a reliance on one or two stop itineraries that currently route passengers via hubs in the Gulf or Southeast Asia. Today, Ethiopian travelers bound for Australia typically connect through cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, while Australians heading to Africa have often routed through Johannesburg, Doha or the Middle East. A direct Addis Ababa Australia service would materially cut travel time and simplify journeys for both leisure and business passengers.
Industry analysts in the region say the move is strategically consistent with Ethiopian Airlines’ recent growth trajectory. The carrier has signaled its interest in deeper Asia Pacific connectivity and already serves destinations in Southeast Asia and East Asia, as well as maintaining a dense African network. A direct flight into Australia would allow Ethiopian to offer one stop travel between Australian cities and more than 60 African destinations via its hub, positioning Addis Ababa as a competitive alternative to Gulf mega hubs for traffic between the two continents.
Ethiopian Airlines Bets Big On Bishoftu Mega Hub
The emerging Ethiopia Australia link is being discussed against the backdrop of one of the most ambitious aviation infrastructure projects in the world: Bishoftu International Airport, marketed by Ethiopian Airlines as a Mega Airport City. Located around 40 to 45 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, the new facility is designed to eventually accommodate up to 110 million passengers a year, significantly more than the current Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
Groundbreaking for the new hub took place on 10 January 2026, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and senior officials. Ethiopian Airlines has framed the project as essential to maintaining its competitive edge as Africa’s largest carrier by passenger numbers and to establishing Ethiopia as a global transfer point on par with leading hubs in the Middle East. The investment, which has been variously costed at 10 to 12.5 billion dollars as the design has evolved, will be spread across multiple phases through to 2030 and beyond.
Current plans envisage at least four parallel runways, parking for around 270 aircraft and a vast passenger terminal covering more than 600,000 square meters in the initial phase. That first stage, targeted for completion around 2030, is expected to handle roughly 60 million passengers annually, more than triple Bole’s pre pandemic volumes. Over time, additional runways and terminal expansions would push capacity toward the 100 million plus mark, placing Bishoftu among the world’s largest airports by throughput.
Designing A New Kind Of African Hub Airport
Ethiopian Airlines has brought in a high profile team to design its mega airport, underscoring the importance it places on architecture and passenger experience. The airline signed an advisory and design contract with Sidara Group, the Dubai based engineering and consulting firm formerly known as Dar Group, in August 2024. The design consortium includes Zaha Hadid Architects, famed for sculptural transport hubs and cultural venues, and specialist aviation architects Pascall plus Watson.
Concept images and early design notes emphasize a people centric terminal with generous daylight, intuitive wayfinding and integrated green spaces. Planners say the airport will function primarily as a fast transfer hub, with some estimates suggesting that as many as 80 percent of passengers will be connecting rather than starting or ending their journey in Ethiopia. That has informed plans for short walking distances, large central processing areas, and a layout optimized for minimum connection times between long haul and regional flights.
The Bishoftu Mega Airport City goes beyond runways and passenger halls. The project includes a cargo and logistics zone with more than 100,000 square meters of freight and support facilities, an airport linked hotel complex, maintenance and training facilities, and land reserved for an industrial park. Ethiopian officials have framed the project as a catalyst for broader economic development in the Oromia region, with new jobs, road links and service industries expected to cluster around the site.
Financing A 12.5 Billion Dollar Aviation Vision
Turning such an expansive blueprint into reality requires an equally large financial package. Ethiopian Airlines has said it will contribute around 30 percent of the total project cost from its own resources, with the remaining funding assembled from a mix of development finance institutions, export credit agencies and commercial lenders. The African Development Bank has signed a mandate letter with Ethiopian to act as lead arranger for a multibillion dollar financing facility dedicated to the airport.
The bank’s leadership has repeatedly described the Bishoftu project as one of Africa’s most significant aviation infrastructure undertakings and aligned it with broader goals of regional integration and trade facilitation. In addition to the African Development Bank, individual financial institutions from the Middle East, Europe, North America and Asia have signaled interest in participating. A China based bank has already pledged a 500 million dollar commitment, highlighting the multi polar appeal of the project to infrastructure investors.
Alongside debt and equity for construction, the financing structure has to accommodate land acquisition and resettlement costs for communities affected by the new airport footprint. Ethiopian Airlines has set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for livelihood restoration and compensation programs, seeking to manage social impacts while keeping the build on schedule. Early works, including earthmoving and site preparation, are budgeted at more than 600 million dollars and are expected to continue through 2026 before full scale terminal and runway construction ramps up.
Australia Eyes Closer Ties With Africa Via Addis Ababa
For Australia, a direct route to Ethiopia would add a significant new dimension to its limited direct links with the African continent. Currently, no airline operates nonstop flights between Australia and any African destination. Travelers from Sydney, Melbourne or Perth typically connect in the Middle East, Asia or occasionally Europe before continuing on to Nairobi, Johannesburg or West Africa. A direct service into Addis Ababa would give Australian travelers a new one stop option to reach a broad swathe of African cities via Ethiopian’s extensive network.
Diplomatically, the move would align with a wider push by Canberra to deepen engagement with African states on trade, education and security. Ethiopian officials have regularly pointed to growing two way flows of students, business travelers and tourists between Africa and the Asia Pacific region. Australia, which hosts sizeable African diaspora communities, has been identified as a promising market for point to point and connecting traffic, particularly for routes linking East Africa with Australia’s east coast.
Trade specialists say agriculture, mining services, education and tourism stand to benefit most rapidly from a direct air bridge. Faster and more predictable journeys would reduce friction for business delegations and enable more flexible itineraries for officials and executives. For Ethiopian exporters, particularly in high value perishables like flowers, fruit and chilled foods, an eventual cargo offering aligned with passenger flights could open niche opportunities into Australian markets that are currently served mainly via Gulf hubs.
Operational Challenges On One Of The World’s Longest Routes
A direct flight between Addis Ababa and a major Australian city would rank among the world’s longer commercial routes, potentially exceeding 12 hours depending on the city pair and routing. Ethiopian Airlines would likely deploy its newest long range widebody aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or Airbus A350, configured to balance passenger comfort and fuel efficiency. The carrier already uses these types on demanding sectors to Asia, Europe and the Americas, but nonstop services into Australia would test range and payload limits, especially in one direction against prevailing winds.
Another operational consideration is altitude. Addis Ababa sits at more than 2,300 meters above sea level, making it one of the world’s highest major airports and imposing performance constraints on heavily loaded aircraft in hot conditions. One rationale behind the Bishoftu project is to site the primary hub at a somewhat lower elevation, improving takeoff performance and allowing higher payloads on long haul departures. As the new airport comes online around 2030, it could provide a more favorable base for future ultra long haul routes, including to Australia.
In the interim, Ethiopian planners may weigh different scheduling and routing options, including technical stops or variations between cities such as Perth, Melbourne and Sydney to optimize flight time and aircraft utilization. Regulatory approvals, including traffic rights under bilateral air services agreements, as well as safety and security inspections, will also shape the timeline for any launch. Nevertheless, the airline’s track record of opening new long haul markets suggests that once commercial viability is established, implementation can move relatively quickly.
Competing For Asia Pacific Africa Flows In A Crowded Market
The proposed Ethiopia Australia link should also be viewed in the context of intensifying competition for Asia Pacific Africa passenger flows. Middle Eastern carriers have long dominated this market, offering one stop connections between Australian cities and dozens of African destinations via their hubs. More recently, Southeast Asian airlines have added capacity, marketing convenient connections between Australia and East Africa. Ethiopian’s strategic bet is that a large, modern hub in Bishoftu, combined with a broad intra African network, can siphon a meaningful share of this traffic.
The airline’s value proposition would rest on total journey time, pricing, and a seamless transfer experience at the new hub. If Bishoftu delivers on promises of short connection times and a comfortable terminal environment, passengers traveling between Australia and cities such as Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Lagos or Accra could find Addis Ababa a compelling alternative to Doha, Dubai or Singapore. The carrier’s membership in the Star Alliance also creates opportunities to coordinate schedules and through fares with partner airlines in Asia and Australasia.
For now, the path from concept to cabin remains a work in progress. Yet the convergence of a 12.5 billion dollar mega airport, rising African passenger demand and a growing appetite for direct connectivity between Australia and emerging markets gives Ethiopian Airlines strong incentives to push forward. If the pieces fall into place, travelers at both ends of the route could, within a few years, find a new nonstop bridge spanning the Indian Ocean and linking two fast changing regions.