Ethiopian Airlines 509 from New York-Newark to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia via Lomé, Togo. This is one of the more interesting flights we have taken.

Addis Ababa Bolé Airport is at an elevation of over 7,500′. Just as in La Paz, the takeoff and landing performance of an aircraft is reduced at this elevation, which forces most of Ethiopian’s flights to North America to make a refueling stop en route.  This is called a technical or “tech stop”.  To make the most of it, the airline also offers round trip tickets to some of these these intermediate destinations, which include Dublin, Ireland, Lomé, Togo and Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. That is to say, they sometimes stop in these destinations when they fly the eastbound sectors as well, even though it is not a technical requirement.