ADD / Addis Ababa Bole International Airport - Connections, Facilities, Layovers
Mar 2, 2024, 5:23 pm
#198
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Exile
Posts: 15,656
Mar 22, 2024, 1:34 pm
#199
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 92
Getting closer to trip. Flight details have changed. Transfer time from VFA-ADD to ADD-ORD flight is now 1 hour. What should we expect with the short layover and flying to the USA? Assume there are additional checks at ADD before flying to USA and will not be brought straight from one plane to the other if needed. 2 people flying business and 2 people flying economy. Also assume different paths for business vs economy. Trying to figure out how rushed we will be to make the flight to ORD. Thank you.
Mar 22, 2024, 1:53 pm
#200
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: Aeroplan, Shebamiles, WorldPerks
Posts: 468
Posting my recent experiences transiting ADD.
On the outbound, we arrived at 5am (among the first flights that arrived in the morning), there were no stairs ready so we waited 10 minutes. The business/C9 bus was filled to the rim with Y pax, probably maybe there were only 5 pax in C9. Transfer security was still opening up, a long queue and the C9/*G track wasn't open yet but a friendly ET staff member let me jump the queue anyway.
Plenty of space in the lounge at that time, but by 7:30 it was full. Same for my return, arriving at 7pm the lounge was mostly empty but by 8:30pm there was hardly an empty seat. On the return the stairs were ready and the business/C9 bus was actually just that for a full load of 24 C9 pax.
F&B was good, the bar was staffed and toilets were cleaned regularly. My only complaint would be the lack of sockets; the window seats where I sat have them in the floor but half didn't work.
Departure from A15 forced an extra security check because that's seems to be the gate area for US flights (A14-16) even if I wasn't going to the US. While there is a C9/*G track, it dumps you in the next queues for a very poorly signposted document check for the US flights, where, again, I wasn't flying to.
Boarding in groups 1-2-3 was well enforced, even if boarding on both outbound and inbound was delayed by 30 min without any announcement, meaning that pax had to sit/stand/queue for an additional 30 min.
On the outbound, we arrived at 5am (among the first flights that arrived in the morning), there were no stairs ready so we waited 10 minutes. The business/C9 bus was filled to the rim with Y pax, probably maybe there were only 5 pax in C9. Transfer security was still opening up, a long queue and the C9/*G track wasn't open yet but a friendly ET staff member let me jump the queue anyway.
Plenty of space in the lounge at that time, but by 7:30 it was full. Same for my return, arriving at 7pm the lounge was mostly empty but by 8:30pm there was hardly an empty seat. On the return the stairs were ready and the business/C9 bus was actually just that for a full load of 24 C9 pax.
F&B was good, the bar was staffed and toilets were cleaned regularly. My only complaint would be the lack of sockets; the window seats where I sat have them in the floor but half didn't work.
Departure from A15 forced an extra security check because that's seems to be the gate area for US flights (A14-16) even if I wasn't going to the US. While there is a C9/*G track, it dumps you in the next queues for a very poorly signposted document check for the US flights, where, again, I wasn't flying to.
Boarding in groups 1-2-3 was well enforced, even if boarding on both outbound and inbound was delayed by 30 min without any announcement, meaning that pax had to sit/stand/queue for an additional 30 min.
Apr 2, 2024, 12:26 am
#201
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Geneva
Programs: LX SEN, AFKL Platinum, BA Bronze,
Posts: 5,641
As you say UK flights, this was the combined GVA/MAN flight. That might explain but then again the next time I took this flight it didn't have the additional security check.
Apr 6, 2024, 8:04 am
#202
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM SK EBG LATAM BL
Posts: 23,309
Plenty of space in the lounge at that time, but by 7:30 it was full. Same for my return, arriving at 7pm the lounge was mostly empty but by 8:30pm there was hardly an empty seat. On the return the stairs were ready and the business/C9 bus was actually just that for a full load of 24 C9 pax.
Apr 6, 2024, 4:17 pm
#203
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Exile
Posts: 15,656
