It is in the Bole district , 6 km 3. The airport is also the base of the Ethiopian Aviation Academy. In , Ethiopian Airlines realized the runway at Lideta was too short for its new jet aircraft, the Boeing Thus a new airport was built at Bole. By December the new runway and control tower were operational.
In , an expansion plan was announced for the airport. The expanded old runway and the new runway are capable of handling the Boeing and Airbus A aircraft. The new parallel runway is connected by five entrances and exits to the old runway, which serves as a taxiway.
The terminal also has banks and duty-free shops. In , the new international passenger terminal was opened, making it one of Africa's largest airport passenger terminals. In , a new cargo terminal and maintenance hangar was opened five months late. This was because of expanded specifications to vastly improve Ethiopian Airlines' handling capacity and needs. The facility can accommodate three to four aircraft at a time. This project was worth a total of million birr.
The project will include expansion of the aircraft parking capacity from 19 to 44 in order to accommodate heavier aircraft such as the Boeing and Boeing In the first phase of the project, 15 parking stands will be constructed and the remaining will be completed in the next phase.
The expansion will help in easing air traffic congestion due to an increase in international travel. Expansion of the passenger terminal, cargo space, hangar, the runway and construction of the hotel is currently [ when?
