The information below concerning Ethiopia is provided for general reference only and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance. While travel on paved and unpaved roads is generally considered safe, land mines and other anti-personnel devices can be encountered on isolated dirt roads that were targeted during the various conflicts. Before undertaking any off-road travel, it is advisable to inquire with local authorities to ensure that the area has been cleared of mines. Excessive speed, unpredictable local driving habits, pedestrians and livestock in the roadway, and the lack of basic safety equipment on many vehicles are daily hazards on Ethiopian roads. In addition, road travel after dark outside Addis Ababa and other cities is dangerous due to broken-down vehicles left on the roads, people using the roads, stray animals, and the possibility of armed robbery in some locations.
Road lighting in cities is inadequate at best and nonexistent outside of cities.
Security procedures at the International Airport in Addis Ababa are thorough, and the FAA has determined that the airport complies with international standards for security. There have been no hijackings of domestic or international flights since November 1996, when an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Kenya was hijacked and crashed near the Comoros Islands. Air travel in northern Ethiopia, near the Eritrean border, is dangerous. In August 1999, Ethiopian military forces shot down a U.S.-registered civil aircraft that, for unknown reasons, had deviated from its intended route of flight. Both pilots were killed.