Maun Airport
Encyclopedia
Maun Airport is an international airport serving the town of Maun
in the northern part of Botswana
. It is an important part of the local infrastructure and serves as the main touristic gateway to the Okavango Delta
and the Moremi Game Reserve. Additional popular tourist destinations like Chobe National Park
or the Makgadikgadi Pan
s are within driving distance. Maun Airport is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) from the town center and is accessible by shuttle bus or taxi. Many tour operators offer chartered sightseeing flights over the Okavango Delta
and vicinity. There are only a few scheduled flights daily to destinations in Botswana
, South Africa
and Namibia
. There are also a number of chartered flights to Botswanan destinations such as the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the largest seasonal wetlands in Africa.(C.Michael Hogan. 2008)
The airport has gone under recent expansion. A new Runway is in the process of being built. The terminal is small and is outdated. Plans for anther new terminal is also in the process of being built.
The first planes to land here were before World War II – in the 1930s, just a mere 30 or so years after the Wright brothers made their historic first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
.
The landing strip in those far-off days was what is today Maun’s main street, the strip later being moved away from the town centre to the present site of the airport.
The earliest known flights over the Okavango region took place in July 1925, and were part of a survey of the rivers of the Okavango region, using aircraft based in Livingstone. Two aircraft were used and both were the Airco
D.H. 9 type, numbers 142 and 144 of the then Union Defense Force of South Africa, piloted by a Capt. C.W. Meredith and Lieut. L. Tasker. They routed to Livingstone from Johannesburg via Bulawayo.
Maun
Maun is the fifth largest town in Botswana. As of 2001, it had a population of 43,776. It is an eclectic mix of modern buildings and native huts. Maun is the "tourism capital" of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland district...
in the northern part of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
. It is an important part of the local infrastructure and serves as the main touristic gateway to the Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
and the Moremi Game Reserve. Additional popular tourist destinations like Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park, in northwest Botswana, has one of the largest concentrations of game in Africa. By size, it is the third largest park of the country, after the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Gemsbok National Park, and is the most diverse...
or the Makgadikgadi Pan
Makgadikgadi Pan
The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna of northeastern Botswana. It is one of the largest salt flats in the world...
s are within driving distance. Maun Airport is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) from the town center and is accessible by shuttle bus or taxi. Many tour operators offer chartered sightseeing flights over the Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
and vicinity. There are only a few scheduled flights daily to destinations in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
. There are also a number of chartered flights to Botswanan destinations such as the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the largest seasonal wetlands in Africa.(C.Michael Hogan. 2008)
The airport has gone under recent expansion. A new Runway is in the process of being built. The terminal is small and is outdated. Plans for anther new terminal is also in the process of being built.
Airlines and destinations
Early history 1925-1939
The aircraft were awaited as they brought news of the outside world, mail, medicines, foodstuffs, and above all, new people to a community hundreds of kilometres from the nearest big town.The first planes to land here were before World War II – in the 1930s, just a mere 30 or so years after the Wright brothers made their historic first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....
.
The landing strip in those far-off days was what is today Maun’s main street, the strip later being moved away from the town centre to the present site of the airport.
The earliest known flights over the Okavango region took place in July 1925, and were part of a survey of the rivers of the Okavango region, using aircraft based in Livingstone. Two aircraft were used and both were the Airco
Airco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited was established in 1912 by George Holt Thomas at The Hyde in Hendon, north London, England.-Geoffrey de Havilland:...
D.H. 9 type, numbers 142 and 144 of the then Union Defense Force of South Africa, piloted by a Capt. C.W. Meredith and Lieut. L. Tasker. They routed to Livingstone from Johannesburg via Bulawayo.