Maun Airport(IATA:MUB,ICAO:FBMN) is aninternational airportserving the town ofMaunin theNorth-West DistrictofBotswana.It is on the north side of the town and is accessible by shuttle bus or taxi.
Maun International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana | ||||||||||
| Serves | Maun,Botswana | ||||||||||
| Hubfor | |||||||||||
| ElevationAMSL | 3,093 ft / 943 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°58′21″S23°25′50″E/ 19.97250°S 23.43056°E | ||||||||||
| Website | caab | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  MUB Location of the airport in Botswana | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Maun Airport serves as the main gateway to theOkavango Deltaand theMoremi Game Reserve.Many tour operators offer chartered flights over the Delta and to Botswana destinations such as theMakgadikgadi Pans,one of the largest seasonal wetlands in Africa. Servicing the many lodges in the area is a major activity, including the transport of passengers and provisions, with short-distance flights taking a few minutes where the journey by 4x4 truck would take several hours. These operations, during their peak in the June to August high season, make the airport the second-busiest in Africa for aircraft movements.[3]
There are also daily scheduled flights to destinations inBotswanaandSouth Africa.[4][5]
Wilderness Airoperates regular charter flights from itsWindhoek-Eros-hub, Namibia to Maun.[6]
Early history 1925-1939
editThe 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 air service began in the 1930s, using a landing strip that today is Maun's main street. The strip was later moved away from the town centre to the present site of the airport.
The earliest known flights over theOkavangotook place in July 1925, and were part of a survey of rivers in the region, using aircraft based in Livingstone. TwoAircoD.H. 9 type, numbers 142 and 144 of the then Union Defense Force of South Africa, were used, piloted by Captain C.W. Meredith and Lieutenant L. Tasker. They routed to Livingstone fromJohannesburgviaBulawayo.[7]
Airlinkcommenced direct flights between Cape Town and Maun starting in March 2016.[8]In October 2016,Air Namibiasuspended scheduled flights to Maun Airport.[4]In May 2018 government officials confirmed their commitment to refurbish and upgrade the existing airport building.[9]
Airlines and destinations
editAccidents
editIn March 2000 a Cessna 414 crashed on its way fromGaboroneto Maun. The pilot and a passenger walked for over 200 kilometres (120 mi) to find help.[18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Airport information for Maun Airportat Great Circle Mapper.
- ^SkyVector - Maun Airport
- ^Spaeth, Andreas (July 2023). "Botswana's sky-high bush safari".Airliner World(288): 53–61.
- ^ab"Southern & East African Tourism Update".
- ^Air Botswana, 2009
- ^"Wilderness Air » Botswana".wilderness-air.Retrieved20 August2018.
- ^"ngamitimes /Archives/".The Ngami Times.Retrieved20 August2018.
- ^"Cape Town gets direct flight link to Botswana's Okavango Delta".Traveller.Retrieved20 August2018.
- ^Pelontle, Kedirebofe (11 May 2018)."Botswana: Maun Airport Terminal Building On Cards".Botswana Daily News (Gaborone).Retrieved20 August2018.
- ^ab"Air Botswana Network Expansion From Sep 2024".Aeroroutes.Retrieved3 September2024.
- ^"SA Airlink Adds Cape Town - Maun Service from March 2016".Airlineroute.net. 16 October 2015.Retrieved15 October2015.
- ^"Air Namibia to suspend flights to Maun".25 June 2016.
- ^"CemAir Adds Johannesburg - Maun Service From May 2023".AeroRoutes. 10 February 2023.Retrieved11 February2023.
- ^"Ethiopian Airlines NS24 Africa Service Changes – 24JAN24".Aeroroutes.Retrieved25 January2024.
- ^"Cheap flights to Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana".
- ^"FlyNamibia boosts Zambezi Region tourism with flight route shift and enhanced connectivity | Namibia Economist".
- ^"FlyNamibia Adds Windhoek – Maun in 3Q24".Aeroroutes.Retrieved6 May2024.
- ^"BBC News | AFRICA | Crash survivors found in desert".
External links
edit
Media related toMaun Airportat Wikimedia Commons
- Air Botswana (2009)Official Flight Schedule
- C. Michael Hogan (2008)Makgadikgadi,The Megalithic Portal,ed. A. Burnham
- Maun Airport (MUB/FBMN) (2008),AZWorldAirports
- Air Namibia axes Windhoek to Maun route
- Maun in Helipaddy
- Accident history for MaunatAviation Safety Network
