For a long time, Africa has been the continent long-haul simmers fly over rather than into. There’s decent coverage from smaller studios and a lot of hard work from the freeware community, but the big names have mostly focused their airport output on Europe, North America and Asia. That’s what makes today’s announcement interesting. iniBuilds has officially unveiled Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (HAAB) for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and the developer says it is already in the final stages of development.
Addis Ababa is the home of Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest carriers in Africa and an operator of the Airbus A350. iniBuilds knows its audience well here, and the announcement openly places HAAB as a natural base for owners of its own A350 Airliner, which is currently heading towards a free V2 built exclusively for MSFS 2024. A high-fidelity home hub for that aircraft outside the usual Europe and North America circuit opens up a very different set of routes.
A hub at 7,600 feet
Besides being a major hub in Africa, HAAB is also special for its altitude. iniBuilds points out that the airport sits at an elevation of more than 7,600 feet, which puts it in a small club of big international airports where thin air plays a real part in the flight. Heavy long-haul departures here mean longer takeoff rolls and closer attention to performance numbers.
Addis Ababa is one of Africa’s most important aviation gateways, connecting the continent with Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Ethiopian’s network alone covers everything from short regional hops across East Africa to long-haul flights, and iniBuilds notes that a range of international carriers also serve the airport.
What iniBuilds has shown so far
According to the announcement, work is taking place across every area of the airport, with the team focused on the proportions and appearance of the terminal complex, apron areas, markings, signage, equipment and the many surrounding buildings. The preview images back this up. Alongside the Terminal 2 exterior and its illuminated signage, we get a look at interior spaces with gate areas, bilingual wayfinding and a colorful patterned walkway, plus the Ethiopian Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul hangar, the airline’s central warehouse and an older hangar with its hand-painted lettering.
There are some charming landside touches too, including an illuminated welcome arch with Ge’ez script and a vintage Ethiopian DC-3 displayed on a fountain roundabout.
As with its recent airports, iniBuilds says performance has been a priority throughout, with assets and LOD handling carefully considered to keep things running smoothly. The developer also confirms the scenery is built with the latest MSFS 2024 SDK features.
The announced feature list includes:
- Hand-crafted ground textures with bespoke runway, taxiway and apron materials
- Highly detailed terminal interiors and exterior modelling
- True-to-life landside recreation with custom vegetation, decals and infrastructure
- Accurately modelled dynamic airport lighting
- Custom taxiway signage built to real-world specification
- Bespoke airport clutter, service vehicles and ground equipment
- Up-to-date airport layout reflecting the current real-world configuration
- Official GSX profile included
- Optimised LODs throughout the scenery for balanced performance
- Built using the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 SDK features
- Full iniManager compatibility
One thing worth noting: the feature list doesn’t mention the multi-jetway system iniBuilds debuted with Chicago O’Hare. At the time, the developer said that technology would roll out to future scenery releases, so whether HAAB gets it at launch is still an open question. We’ll be keeping an eye out for that as more details appear.
Not the first HAAB, but a new tier
iniBuilds isn’t the first developer to take on Addis Ababa. African Skies and Barelli MSFS Addon both already offer payware versions for MSFS, and the freeware community has covered the airport too. What iniBuilds brings is its established formula for large hubs, from the terminal interiors to the GSX profile, which we’ve seen in releases like Manchester and Dallas Fort Worth. If you enjoy exploring the region, we’ve also covered independent efforts like NetDesign’s Algiers International Airport, where smaller studios have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Release details
No release date or price has been announced yet. iniBuilds says HAAB is “releasing soon” and promises more previews and details as launch approaches. For reference, the developer’s recent large hubs have launched in the £17.99 to £23.99 range (excluding VAT), though that’s no guarantee of where Addis Ababa will land. We’ll share more as soon as iniBuilds does.
