How to Get to Eritrea: Flights to Asmara, Visas & Arrival (2026)

Every arriving tourist enters Eritrea through Asmara International Airport (ASM), in the capital. It is the country's single international gateway for visitors, and all onward travel within Eritrea begins there. There is no functioning overland tourist route into the country, so your itinerary starts and ends at ASM.

Three international routes to Asmara are dependable and run year-round: Cairo (EgyptAir), Dubai (flydubai) and Istanbul (Turkish Airlines). These are the long-standing, reliable connections, and the routes we plan most client itineraries around.

• 01
  flydubai, Dubai (DXB):

  the most frequent link to Asmara and the shortest, at roughly 3 hours 40 minutes' flying time. This is the easiest single-leg option if you can reach Dubai.
• 02
  EgyptAir, Cairo (CAI):

  a frequent direct service, and a natural connecting point for travellers coming from Europe and North America via the major Cairo hub.
• 03
  Turkish Airlines, Istanbul (IST):

  a frequent, year-round service and the main direct link to a large European connecting hub.

A fourth scheduled route runs from Jeddah (JED) on flynas, twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays. It is a useful option if you are already in the Gulf, less so from Europe. Other Gulf routes appear from time to time, Etihad from Abu Dhabi (AUH) has been listed, but those are seasonal or variable rather than dependable year-round services and must be reconfirmed at the time of booking. A handful of further routes, such as Port Sudan on Sudanese carriers, reflect regional politics rather than tourism and are not practical entry paths for visitors.

Schedules move by season, so the times below were checked in August 2026 and should be reconfirmed before you book. Tell us the flight you are considering and we will tell you straight away whether it works with your itinerary.

Every arrival into Asmara falls between 17:20 and 02:25. There are no daytime landings, and that single fact shapes your first evening more than anything else on this page.

Why there are no daytime arrivals. The land border with Ethiopia is closed and no regional airline serves Asmara, so the city is reached only from Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul and Jeddah. All four carriers schedule Asmara as the last leg of their day, which is why every arrival falls after dark.

Departures sit at opposite ends of the clock. The later you fly, the more of your last day you keep.

If you fly out after 12:00. Hotel check out is at midday, so a late evening or after midnight departure leaves you several hours without a room. Most travellers spend them out, on a last walk through the art deco centre and an unhurried dinner, and leave their bags at the hotel. If you would rather keep a room to rest and shower in, tell us and we will hold one. The hotel charges that as a full night.

There is no direct flight between Asmara (ASM) and Addis Ababa (ADD) in 2026. Ethiopian Airlines briefly resumed the route after the 2018 Ethiopia–Eritrea peace deal, but suspended all Asmara services in 2024 and the route remains suspended, with no published resumption date. You may still find older pages describing a "daily" Ethiopian service; that content is stale, and we will not promise a flight that does not exist.

The land borders are not an alternative. The Eritrea–Ethiopia frontier has effectively been sealed since the 1998–2000 war; a brief post-2018 reopening was reversed within months. The Eritrea–Djibouti border is closed to foreign tourists, and the Sudan side is not a safe or advisable tourist crossing. The honest summary: Eritrea is reached only by air, through a hub. If you were hoping to pair Eritrea with Ethiopia on one trip, you would need to fly out of Asmara to a third-country hub and connect onward, not cross by land.

The government visa fee is USD 70, paid in cash in US dollars at Asmara airport, and you receive a 30-day visa. Whether you receive it on arrival or apply in advance depends on where you live (see below). Either way, the Letter of Invitation issued by your licensed operator, for our clients, by Adulis, is central to the process.

Here is what arrival looks like: you take your printed Letter of Invitation and passport to the visa and immigration counter, pay the USD 70 fee in cash, complete any currency declaration, and have the visa stamped in. Allow time, processing can take up to about an hour.

There are two ways to get your visa. Most of our guests use the visa on arrival at Asmara airport, which we enable with your Letter of Invitation; it is open to you whether or not your country has an Eritrean embassy. If there is an Eritrean embassy in your country, you also have the option of applying there in advance. Either way, we prepare the paperwork and tell you exactly what applies to you. The full detail is on our Eritrea visa and permits guide.

A few requirements matter before you fly:

• 01
  Passport:

  valid for at least six months beyond your trip, with at least two blank consecutive pages for stamps. Hold onward or return tickets and documentation for your next destination.
• 02
  Cash:

  bring enough. The visa fee, and most day-to-day spending, is cash-based, there are no ATMs for foreign cards. Bring US dollars or euros, which are exchanged for Eritrean nakfa (ERN). Foreign currency should be declared on arrival and reconciled on departure. More detail is on our money in Eritrea guide.
• 03
  Permits:

  travel outside Asmara requires internal travel permits, which we arrange for you. A yellow-fever vaccination certificate is required if you are arriving from a country with yellow-fever risk.

Because you always connect through a hub, your total journey time depends on which gateway you use:

• 01
  From Europe:

  fly to Istanbul, Cairo or Dubai and connect onward to Asmara, one stop, commonly 10–16 hours in total including the connection, depending on the hub and layover.
• 02
  From North America:

  two connections are usual, for example a European or Gulf gateway, then Cairo, Istanbul or Dubai onward to ASM.
• 03
  From the Gulf:

  flydubai from Dubai is the shortest and most frequent single-leg option, under four hours.

As a licensed Asmara-based operator, we advise on the routing that suits your home city, issue the Letter of Invitation that enables your visa, and arrange the internal permits for travel beyond the capital. If you would like us to map a realistic route and handle the paperwork, start with designing your own tour, or read more background on planning a trip to Eritrea and whether Eritrea is safe for tourists.

• 01

  How do you get to Eritrea?

  You fly in. The only airport for arriving tourists is Asmara International Airport (ASM), reached by connecting through a hub, most reliably Cairo (EgyptAir), Dubai (flydubai) or Istanbul (Turkish Airlines). Land borders are closed or impractical, so Eritrea is effectively fly-in only.
• 02

  Is there a direct flight from Addis Ababa to Asmara?

  No. There is no direct flight between Addis Ababa (ADD) and Asmara (ASM) in 2026. Ethiopian Airlines suspended all Asmara services in 2024 and the route remains suspended. Some older web pages still describe a daily service, but that information is out of date.
• 03

  Can I combine Eritrea and Ethiopia in one trip overland?

  No. The Eritrea–Ethiopia land border is closed and has effectively been sealed since the 1998–2000 war, and there is no direct flight between the two capitals. To visit both countries you would fly out of Asmara to a third-country hub and connect onward, you cannot cross by land or on a single hop.
• 04

  How do I get an Eritrean visa to fly in?

  There are two ways. Most travellers use the visa on arrival at Asmara airport, enabled by the Letter of Invitation from your licensed operator, whether or not your country has an Eritrean embassy. If there is an Eritrean embassy where you live, you can also apply for the visa there in advance. The government fee is USD 70, paid in cash in US dollars.
• 05

  Which is the easiest way to fly to Asmara?

  flydubai from Dubai (DXB) is the most frequent link to Asmara and the shortest, with a flying time of around 3 hours 40 minutes. It is the easiest single-leg option for travellers who can reach Dubai; from Europe and North America, Cairo and Istanbul are the natural connecting hubs.
• 06

  Do I need cash when I arrive in Eritrea?

  Yes. The USD 70 visa fee is paid in US dollars at the airport, and most spending in Eritrea is cash-based with no ATMs for foreign cards. Bring US dollars or euros, which are exchanged for Eritrean nakfa, and declare your foreign currency on arrival.