Layover in Addis Ababa

We were due to arrive in Addis Ababa at 5:55 AM and depart at 10:30 AM. We thought we had enough time (4.5 hours) to go to the city since it would be early morning and traffic would be light. Yet we debated back-and-forth if we had time to leave the airport. We made the right decision in deciding not to leave the airport.  Getting to Addis Ababa on a four and a half hour layover definitely is not enough time to leave the Addis airport. Since we were offloaded from the plane to a transfer bus, getting into the airport took much more time than we had anticipated. We were not into the airport until approximately 6:30 AM which at this point only left us with four hours to see the city and if we wanted to go that meant we still had to clear immigration. At this point I knew we didn’t have enough time.  Further, I didn’t know if there was  a security check to enter the airport like many airports in Africa. I thought if there is, it would add even more time to us getting to our connecting flight. What I did know was that there are secondary security checks at the gates at Addis.  Once one enters the waiting area, one may not have access to a toilet.  Make sure you go before getting in the screening line.

Since we had a few hours to spare, we stopped for a coffee and walked about the stores.  A few things I noticed about this airport were, one, that the prices at the airport were ridiculous.  The small, snack-sized can of Pringles chips ran five dollars and a Snickers bar was selling for seven dollars.  The only deal we found was in the only restaurant in the airport, London, was the coffee for three dollars a cup.  Throughout the concourse, there are three locations of the London restaurant. The restaurant only took US cash, Euro, or British pounds it would not take a credit cards. If you’re going to go to the Addis Ababa airport I highly recommend you carry a lot of small bills and watch putting stuff on the floor because we saw quite a few roaches.

We went on to the gate screening line by 9:00 a.m.  In the area there were no concessions, but this area did have a bathroom. (When we flew back from the Seychelles, our waiting area did not have a bathroom).  They begin loading the transfer bus to the plane at 9:45 a.m.. I believe the last bus left at around 9:50 a.m.. Had we gone to the city we would’ve missed the transfer bus and our connecting flight.  We made a very wise decision to stay in the airport.

~Bella