CAAB public affairs manager, Modipe Nkwe says in terms of aircraft movement, Maun airport is second after Cape Town International Airport in the southern African region. Nkwe reckons that most traffic into and out of Maun consists of light aircraft coming in from and into the delta. He says the aircraft runway has been designed to take an equivalent of B737 aircraft, noting that the terminal building capacity receives 169 international arrivals and departures per peak hour; 66 domestic arrivals and departures per peak hour and 147 non-scheduled flights per peak hour.
According to Nkwe the Maun airport last year had 24,864 landings and 24,870 departures catering for a total of 234,896 passengers, making the airport one of the busiest in southern Africa, and a major hub for pre-booked itineraries where people come and go with brief stopovers between flights.
The current, phase 3, of the airport upgrading involves air traffic control tower and technical block. The project commenced on January 12 and is expected to be completed by January 13, 2016. Nkwe says the tower building stands at 19 per cent complete as of June 16. He also states that phase four of the project will cover upgrading of the new terminal building. At the moment, he says, the project is at design stage but designs are not yet finalised, adding that once awarded, construction is expected to take three and half years. The runway length will be 3.7km.
