Combolcha Airport

Replacement and obsolescence. The old airport had a short, unpaved (gravel/dirt) runway and minimal infrastructure, which limited it to smaller, propeller-driven aircraft. It was inadequate for modern aviation needs. A new, modern airport was constructed nearby with a long, paved runway (3,600 meters), a modern terminal building, and the capacity to handle larger jet aircraft like the Boeing 737. The closure was a planned transition to the new, superior facility to improve safety, reliability, and capacity for the economically significant Dessie-Combolcha region.

The site has been completely redeveloped. The land of the former airport is now occupied by the Kombolcha Institute of Technology (KIOT), a major campus of Wollo University. While the faint outline of the former runway is still visible from satellite imagery, it has been repurposed into roads and access ways for the university campus, with numerous large academic and administrative buildings constructed directly on and around the former airfield.

For several decades, this airport was the primary air link for the cities of Dessie and Combolcha, major industrial and trade centers in the Amhara Region. It was a vital piece of infrastructure for connecting the region to the capital, Addis Ababa. Operations were primarily domestic passenger and cargo flights, historically handled by Ethiopian Airlines using aircraft such as the DC-3, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and later the Fokker 50. Due to its strategic location, the airport also likely served military and humanitarian purposes, particularly during the Ethiopian Civil War and subsequent periods of regional instability.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening this airport. Its function has been permanently superseded by the new Combolcha Airport (HADC/DSE), and the original site has been irreversibly redeveloped for educational purposes. All future aviation development for the region is focused on the new airport.