Sir Seretse Khama International Airport
Airport in Gaborone, Botswana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (IATA: GBE, ICAO: FBSK), located 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of downtown Gaborone, is the main international airport of the capital city of Botswana. It is the busiest airport in the country. In 2017 the airport got its first special economic zone which would house in the following departments: CAAB, Botswana Innovation Hub, ITPA and diamond hub for diamond sector.[3][4]
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana | ||||||||||
| Serves | Gaborone | ||||||||||
| Location | Gaborone, Botswana | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1984 | ||||||||||
| Hub for | Air Botswana | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3,299 ft / 1,006 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°33′19″S 025°55′06″E | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 Interactive Map | |||||||||||
  GBE Location within Botswana | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||
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| Source: CAAB,[1] Aircraft and Passenger Statistics[2] | |||||||||||
History
The airport was first opened in 1984, and was named after Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana,[1][5] whom led the country to independence in 1966.
British Airways started flying to the airport in 1987 from London Heathrow via Johannesburg, but the route was discontinued in April 1999.[6]
In 2008, the airport started a major expansion.[7] The old terminal could handle only 225 people at a time. The terminal size increased from 3,140 m2 to 17,000 m2. New baggage and screening equipment were installed. The existing runway was rehabilitated and 4,000 m parallel taxiway was built.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
| Year | Aircraft Movements | Passenger Movements | |||||
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| International | Domestic | Total | International | Domestic | Total | ||
| 2012 | 10,477 | 5,673 | 16,150 | 306,360 | 100,616 | 406,976 | |
| 2013 | 10,552 | 5,794 | 16,346 | 296,538 | 104,562 | 401,100 | |
| 2014 | 11,718 | 4,830 | 16,548 | 293,125 | 91,251 | 384,376 | |
| 2015 | 12,442 | 5,121 | 17,563 | 298,717 | 83,563 | 382,280 | |
| 2016 | 12,585 | 4,854 | 17,439 | 316,874 | 85,991 | 402,865 | |
| 2017 | 11,497 | 4,483 | 15,980 | 345,975 | 78,665 | 424,640 | |
| 2018 | 11,381 | 4,754 | 16,135 | 362,914 | 81,55 | 444,473 | |
| 2019 | 11,969 | 4,331 | 16,299 | 392,106 | 78,866 | 470,972 | |
| 2020 | 3,719 | 2,199 | 5,918 | 86,137 | 31,090 | 117,227 | |
| 2021 | 5,076 | 2,776 | 7,852 | 108,238 | 37,924 | 146,162 | |
| 2022 | 6,937 | 2,946 | 9,883 | 246,286 | 57,414 | 303,700 | |
| 2023 | 7,499 | 2,964 | 10,463 | 291,739 | 61,626 | 353,365 | |
| 2024 | 7,806 | 2,949 | 10,755 | 343,767 | 64,046 | 407,813 | |
Botswana Defence Force Air Wing
Botswana Defence Force Air Wing VIP Flight Wing is based at the airport.
Accidents and incidents
On 11 October 1999, an Air Botswana pilot, Captain Chris Phatswe, commandeered a parked Aérospatiale ATR 42 aircraft A2-ABB without authorization in the early morning and took off. Once in the air, he asked by radio to speak to the president, Air Botswana's general manager, the station commander, central police station and his girlfriend, among others. Because the president was out of the country, he was allowed to speak to the vice president. In spite of all attempts to persuade him to land and discuss his grievances, he stated he was going to crash into some aircraft on the apron. After a total flying time of about 2 hours, he did two loops and then crashed at 200 knots (370 km/h; 230 mph) into Air Botswana's two other ATR 42s parked on the apron. The captain was killed but there were no other casualties.
Airline sources say the pilot had been grounded on medical reasons, refused reinstatement and regrounded until February 2000. Air Botswana operations were crippled, as the airline temporarily only had one aircraft left – a BAe 146 that was grounded with technical problems.[14]
