Pre-booked pickups and drop-offs at Bole International Airport for individual travellers, business visitors and delegations, including late-night arrivals arranged in advance.
Platinum Car Rental's Bole Airport transfer is a pre-booked, chauffeur-driven pickup from Bole International Airport (ADD), Addis Ababa. The quote states the vehicle, meeting point and waiting included; the driver tracks your flight and helps with luggage. Night arrivals are covered when booked ahead. Send flight, passengers, bags and destination.
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Door-to-door chauffeur-driven transfers between Bole International Airport and your hotel, residence, embassy or office. Covering the international and domestic terminals, including night arrivals booked in advance.
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A chauffeur meets you at the arrangement confirmed in your booking, helps with luggage and drives you to your hotel, residence or office. We track the flight number you give us and move the pickup time for delays; how much waiting is included, and any charge beyond it, is stated in your quote.
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An airport transfer is quoted per journey. Before you accept, the written quote should state:
Compare quotes on these points rather than headline price alone. The cost guide explains the factors behind a price.
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Choose by passengers and bags: a full SUV may not take every passenger’s large case. Tell us both numbers and we confirm a suitable class in the quote.
| Vehicle | Listed capacity | Typical airport use |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota Land Cruiser | Up to 5 passengers · Executive 4×4 | Individual travellers and small parties |
| Toyota Prado | Up to 5 passengers · Executive 4×4 | Individual travellers and small parties |
| Toyota Hiace | 12–14 passengers · Minibus | Families, teams and delegations with luggage |
| Hyundai H1 | 8–10 passengers · Executive Van | Families, teams and delegations with luggage |
| Nissan Urvan | 12–15 passengers · Minibus | Families, teams and delegations with luggage |
Listed capacities are indicative passenger maximums from our fleet list; usable luggage space falls as seats fill. Exact seating and luggage space are confirmed for your booking. See the full fleet.
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A useful airport request includes:
Keep passport details and security-sensitive schedules out of the form; we will ask if anything else is needed.
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Organisations with regular arrivals can set up an account so transfers are booked against one contact and billed monthly with cost codes. See corporate transport for how accounts work.
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Hotels can book us to collect arriving guests on their behalf — billed back to the property or directly to the guest.
→ Full guide: Hotel Partner Chauffeur & Guest Transport
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Bole International Airport (ADD) is Ethiopian Airlines’ hub and one of Africa’s busiest airports. Terminal 2 handles international flights and Terminal 1 handles domestic services. Our office is in Bole, close to the terminals. Many long-haul flights land between midnight and 6am; these pickups are arranged in advance rather than handled by the office in real time.
Bole is about 5–10 km from most city hotels. From the airport, most transfers head up Bole Road or onto the ring road towards the city’s hotels, embassies and offices. The Skylight Hotel is about 2 km away, while central hotels such as the Hilton and Radisson Blu can take 60–90 minutes at peak times. Transfers can also carry straight on into long-distance hire to other parts of Ethiopia.
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Send the details above through the airport transfer enquiry form — at least 4 hours’ notice is recommended. We aim to reply within two business hours during staffed office hours (Addis Ababa time). Enquiries sent outside those hours are answered when the office reopens. Sending an enquiry does not reserve a vehicle. A booking is confirmed only when we send written confirmation and you accept the quote.
For a same-day arrival, phone or WhatsApp as well as sending the form.
Planning guides: Bole Airport handbook · night arrivals · taxi, shuttle or private transfer · drive times to hotels · transit and layovers
Arriving at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa after a long-haul flight and walking out of arrivals into the car park is a specific kind of disorientation. Drivers outside the terminal approach arrivals, informal taxis operate from the kerbside, and ride-hailing apps function in the city but require local data to open. For most travellers arriving in Addis Ababa for a work programme, an NGO deployment, or a high-stakes diplomatic visit, that is not the introduction the day needs. Bole airport transfer through Platinum means the driver is already inside the arrivals hall before you land, holding a name-board, monitoring your flight in real time, and confirmed in advance. This guide covers exactly how the airport transfer service works, what is included, how it compares to the alternatives, and how to book.
A Bole airport transfer from Platinum includes four things that informal taxis and ride-hailing apps do not provide. First, the driver is positioned inside the international arrivals hall at Bole International Airport, holding a printed name-board with the passenger's name. You do not have to exit the terminal and search for a vehicle. Second, the driver monitors the flight from booking confirmation through to landing; if the aircraft is delayed, the driver adjusts arrival time automatically and is in position when you actually clear customs, not an hour before. Third, a confirmed vehicle is assigned to the booking at the time of confirmation: you know whether you have a Land Cruiser Prado, a Land Cruiser 200, or a Hiace before you board the plane. Fourth, the driver handles luggage from the baggage collection point to the vehicle. There is no fee negotiation at pick-up.
For clients arriving on the same flight as part of a delegation, the Hiace or Urvan meets the group at a single exit point and transfers them together to the hotel or office, with one driver handling the full group logistics.
Flight monitoring for the Bole airport transfer means the operations team tracks the incoming flight number from departure airport to Addis Ababa in real time. This covers delays at the departure end, extended taxiing, and late gate releases. If your flight from Frankfurt or Nairobi pushes back 90 minutes late and you land at 2am instead of midnight, the driver is not standing in arrivals since midnight running up a parking charge; the driver is dispatched to arrive at the time you actually land. The adjustment is automatic. You do not need to message or call the operations team to inform them of the delay.
This matters most for international long-haul connections, where a missed connection or a delayed leg arrives at Bole at an unpredictable time. The standard for the airport transfers service is that the driver is in position at the time of actual landing, with the waiting allowance for delays stated in the quote.
The informal taxi market at Bole International operates from the kerbside outside departures and from the car park. Fares are negotiated on arrival. The vehicle is unspecified. There is no booking record, no named driver, and no guaranteed vehicle presentation. App-based ride-hailing operates in Addis Ababa and is a functional option for short city runs during the day. At Bole, the airport-specific complication is data connectivity: establishing an app booking immediately after landing requires a working local SIM or confirmed roaming, which is not always available on the first few minutes after clearing customs. For a full comparison of informal and professional transfer options at Bole, see the airport taxi guide.
For a leisure traveller on a straightforward visit, an informal taxi may be adequate. For an embassy official, an NGO logistics coordinator, or a corporate executive on a programme with back-to-back meetings, the absence of a booking record and a confirmed vehicle is a compliance gap, not a minor inconvenience. The chauffeur service model eliminates that gap: one booking, one confirmation, one driver, one vehicle.
The Bole airport transfer service operates in both directions. For departing passengers, Platinum provides a pick-up from any Addis Ababa address or hotel with the vehicle arriving at the agreed time. Departure transfers are booked on the same basis as arrivals: vehicle, driver, and time all confirmed in writing in advance. For early morning flights, the driver is dispatched to your address with the vehicle ready and confirmed; there is no waiting at a hotel lobby for a taxi that may or may not materialise.
For clients on a city hire arrangement who need an airport run at the end of a programme, the departure transfer can be added to the existing booking rather than placed as a separate request. The operations team handles the scheduling against the existing vehicle assignment. The complete hire guide covers all booking formats including standing accounts for organisations with regular airport movements.
A standard Bole airport transfer needs at least four hours' notice before your scheduled landing time. A booking is confirmed only when we send written confirmation.
No. Your driver tracks the flight and adjusts the pickup time automatically, and you are not charged for waiting time caused by a delay.
Yes. A Toyota Hiace or Nissan Urvan minibus collects a full group from one exit point, while a Prado or Land Cruiser suits individuals and small groups.
Yes. Departure transfers from your hotel, office or residence to Bole are booked the same way, with the pickup time confirmed in advance.
Yes. If you need the vehicle after the airport drop-off, the booking can be extended, and any extra cost is confirmed in the written quote.
Yes. Booking at least 4 hours ahead is recommended so a suitable vehicle and driver can be assigned; a request is not confirmed until we reply in writing. For a same-day arrival, phone or WhatsApp us as well as sending the form.
We track the flight number you give us and adjust the pickup time for delays. How much waiting is included, and any charge beyond it, is stated in your written quote — check it before you accept.
Yes. Pickups can be arranged from both the international terminal (Terminal 2) and the domestic terminal (Terminal 1) at Bole; tell us which one when you enquire.
No. All Platinum Car Rental vehicles are chauffeur-driven without exception.
The meeting point and name-board arrangement are confirmed with your booking, together with the driver's contact number. The driver helps with luggage and walks you to the vehicle, so there is no fare to negotiate on arrival.
A Toyota Land Cruiser or Prado suits one to a few passengers, the Hyundai H1 suits small delegations, and the Toyota Hiace or Nissan Urvan carries larger groups with luggage. Tell us the number of passengers and bags and we will confirm the right vehicle in your quote.
Dedicated fleet accounts for embassies, NGOs and multinationals across Ethiopia.
Multi-day chauffeur-driven journeys to any region of Ethiopia.
Truck hire for cargo, construction and bulk transport nationwide.
How hotels book and bill guest transport directly.
