Addis Ababa Bole International Airport opened in the early 1960s, replacing the older Lideta airfield as the Ethiopian capital's main gateway. It was built in the Bole district southeast of the city center and quickly became the operational home of Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier founded in 1945 that began flying in 1946. Through the late twentieth century Bole grew steadily as Ethiopian expanded across Africa, taking advantage of Addis Ababa's central position on the continent.
A new international terminal opened in 2003, at the time one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. A Chinese-financed expansion completed in 2019 tripled terminal capacity to roughly 22 million passengers a year.
Bole has since overtaken Dubai as the leading long-haul transfer point for travelers connecting to sub-Saharan Africa, and Ethiopian Airlines has grown into Africa's largest carrier by passengers, fleet, and revenue. Because the existing site is hemmed in by the growing city, Ethiopia has announced plans for a vastly larger replacement airport at Bishoftu, southeast of the capital, intended to eventually handle up to 100 million passengers a year and secure the country's role as Africa's aviation crossroads.