Addis Ababa
to 
Dubai
is Africa’s 16th largest intercontinental passenger market, although it ranks an impressive second when only the sub-Saharan region is considered (only London Heathrow-Lagos is more popular).
When all airlines are combined, booking data shows that Addis Ababa had 401,000 point-to-point Dubai passengers who only flew between the two cities in 2023. It had an average of 549 passengers daily each way, most of whom were laborers and traders. Traffic rose 6% compared to 2019 and 155% compared to 2014.
The figures do not include those who transferred to another flight in Addis Ababa or Dubai.
Addis Ababa to Dubai: a summary
The market is served nonstop by Ethiopian Airlines
, 
Emirates
, and flydubai
. While the trio had five daily flights in 2023 and most of 2024, it rises to a record six daily in December 2024 and into 2025:
- Ethiopian: triple daily (most of its widebody fleet is deployed; in December, flights are mainly on the 399-seat 777-300ER, the carrier’s highest-capacity equipment. The 777-200LR, A350-900, 787-8, and occasionally the brand-new A350-1000, which made its Dubai debut in November, will also appear)
- flydubai: double daily 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 (twice daily from December 2)
- Emirates: daily 777-300ER (recently returned to daily having been six times weekly)
Photo: Andrzej Lisowski Travel I Shutterstock
Explored: Ethiopian to Dubai
Let’s focus on Ethiopian, Africa’s largest operator, although it has little competition for the title. Unsurprisingly, booking data shows it is the primary carrier in the point-to-point market. It carried nearly six out of ten passengers (58%), about 318 passengers daily each way.
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The point-to-point market is of significant focus to the Star Alliance member. However, despite carrying by far most travelers, this segment had less than half of Ethiopian’s Dubai total. Most people connected to another flight in Addis Ababa. In contrast, and despite expectations, over half of Emirates and flydubai’s Addis Ababa traffic was local, with this particularly the case for Emirates.
Photo: Pawarin Prapukdee I Shutterstock
Ethiopian’s Dubai schedule
In December, Ethiopian’s Dubai schedule is as follows, with all times local:
- Addis Ababa-Dubai: 10:30-15:45 (777-300ER), 21:45-02:55+1 (777-300ER, 777-200LR, A350-900, A350-1000), 22:50-04:10+1 (777-300ER, 777-200LR, 787-8, A350-900)
- Dubai-Addis Ababa: 04:25-07:40 (777-300ER, 777-200LR, A350-900, A350-1000), 05:40-09:00 (777-300ER, 777-200LR, 787-8, A350-900), 17:10-20:35 (777-300ER)
Notice how two flights leave very close to one another. This is entirely to maximize connections across the vast African continent as they are fed by and feed the most African services, as shown below. The 10:30 departure and 20:35 arrival feed far fewer flights. For now, it has no Dubai service that meets its growing third wave in the afternoon.
Image: OAG
Ethiopian’s top transit markets
In 2023, an estimated 310,000 roundtrip passengers transited to another Ethiopian flight in Addis Ababa (425 passengers daily each way). Most people went to/from Western and Central Africa, distantly followed by Eastern Africa and Southern Africa.
As shown below, Dubai-Kinshasa was the most popular origin and destination, with around 37,000 passengers. Kinshasa has not had a nonstop Dubai operation since flydubai exited the market in 2019 (it flew via Entebbe). Perhaps Emirates will serve it once it receives more A350s or its 787-9s begin to arrive.
- Dubai (via Addis Ababa)-Kinshasa (Kinshasa does not have Dubai service)
- Dubai-Bamako (Bamako does not have Dubai service)
- Dubai-Douala (Douala does not have Dubai service)
- Dubai-Accra
- Dubai-N’Djamena (N’Djamena does not have Dubai service)
- Dubai-Lomé (Lomé does not have Dubai service)
- Dubai-Lagos
- Dubai-Libreville (Libreville does not have Dubai service)
- Dubai-Kigali
- Dubai-Yaoundé (Yaoundé does not have Dubai service)