Ethiopian Airlines

❮ Back To Message Board
Message Submitted by GMR on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 10:04
We will be flying Ethiopian Airlines from Dulles to Addis, then 3 internal flights, and also ADD to Rwanda. I am having difficulty communicating with them and have gotten some answers that seem quite strange. Such as one woman told me that no cameras are allowed on board! So, if you have flown Ethiopian Airlines, I have some questions. Did you have any problem carry your cameras in your carry on (I have SLR camera with lenses)? What about spare batteries? Here in the U.S. they must be carried in the carry on. How strict were they with weight limits? Any other Ethiopian Airlines information would be appreciated. Thank you all.

Reply Submitted by Jack Manes on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 11:17

I have not flown this airline, but here is a link from their website indicating what is restricted.

http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/travel/baggage/restricted.aspx

Reply Submitted by Adventuregirl on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 11:45

A good review site for airlines is: www.airlinequality.com It is much like tripadvisor.com, but for airline flights and you can often pick up good hints about flying the various airlines. I've flown from Addis Ababa to Nairobi and also Addis to Djibouti on Ethiopian Airlines, very short flights, so they used smaller, almost commuter planes.

Reply Submitted by travelseg on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:28

I flew Ethiopian Airlines last September on a few internal flights. I always carry my camera (and iPod) in my purse, as well as extra batteries in my carry on. No one questioned any of that and the security was very thorough in all the airports. I also had no problems with weight limits on carry on bags. Since I was with a group, our checked luggage was probably weighed together.

The one thing I remember about Ethiopian Airlines was that we were very late for our flight from ADD to Bahir Dar and they actually held the plane for us. It was embarassing walking down the aisle to our seats. And it was all the Ethiopian guide's fault!

Reply Submitted by velevele on Sat, 07/07/2012 - 06:54

I just returned at the end of June (2012) from a few weeks in Ethiopia. I flew there and back on Ethiopian Airlines (the direct Dulles-Addis flight), and took about 5 or 6 flights domestically on the airline within the country. I had my camera in my carryon bag in all but one flight, with no problems at all (I have a large point-and-shoot, not pocket-sized). I also had AA batteries in both my carryon and checked luggage for all of the flights, with no problems. I don't travel with lithium or any kind of rechargeable batteries - just AAs.

I didn't encounter any weight problems, but then my total bag weight (both checked and carryon) was < 15 kg. The two international flights both landed ~45 minutes early. One domestic flight was about an hour late on departure. All other domestic flights were on time. Ethiopian is not Korean or Singapore or some of the other Asian airlines, but it was perfectly fine, and it's great to not have to stop over in Europe en route. I would definitely use this airline again. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.