Seychelles International Airport
Encyclopedia
Mahé, Seychelles
Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles, lying in the north east of the nation. The population of Mahé is 80,000. It contains the capital city of Victoria and accommodates 90% of the country's total population...
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
near the capital city of Victoria
Victoria, Seychelles
Victoria is the capital city of the Seychelles and is situated on the north-eastern side of Mahé island, which is the main island of the archipelago. The city was first established as the seat of the British colonial government...
. It forms part of the Administrative districts of La pointe Larue (terminal area), Cascade/Providence (in the North) and Anse aux pins (in the south and military base).
The airport is 11 km south-east of the capital and is accessible by the Victoria - Providence Highway. There are frequent bus services from the bus station in Victoria, with taxi ranks outside the terminal available to all locations on Mahé Island and several tour operators coach services namely Creole Travel Services and Mason's travel which also links passengers to the ferry terminal at the Old Port (Vieux port) for inter-island ferry services and to the New Port (Nouveau port) for cruise holidays.
A domestic terminal is located a short walking distance north of the International terminal and offers domestic inter-island flights with a peak of a departure every 10–15 minutes at busy times which corresponds with international arrivals/departures and every 30 minutes at other times. There is plan to link the airport with a light railway
Light railway
Light railway refers to a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail". This usually means the railway uses lighter weight track, and is more steeply graded and tightly curved to avoid civil engineering costs...
/tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system which will run along the east coast of Mahé island due to the high transportation density of this area. Companies were invited to tender in 2007 by the government.
A cargo terminal is situated south of the International terminal and handles freights from all international and domestic movements and is run by the national airline Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles is the national airline of the Seychelles, with its head office on the property of Seychelles International Airport on the island of Mahé. It operates inter-island services and international flights...
. A military base of the Seychelles Public Defence Force (SPDF) exists at the southeastern end of runway 13 in the south on an island joined with Mahé at the construction of the airport.
History
The opening of the Seychelles International Airport took place on the 20 March 1972 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and was an epic event for the small Seychelles Islands. Wilkenair of KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
had, however, already started a ferry service between Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
and Mahé
Mahé, Seychelles
Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles, lying in the north east of the nation. The population of Mahé is 80,000. It contains the capital city of Victoria and accommodates 90% of the country's total population...
via Diego Suarez
Diego Suarez
Diego Suarez was a garden designer known for his work at James Deering's Villa Vizcaya in Miami, Florida. He also served as a press attaché and minister counselor for Chile in Washington, D.C...
in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and Astove Island
Astove Island
Astove Island is part of the Aldabra Group of the Seychelles. It is 38 km SSE of Cosmoledo Atoll, located at . It is a raised coral island of most peculiar form: a single stretch of land, more than 1 km at the widest, almost entirely encloses a shallow lagoon...
(Seychelles) using a twin engine Piper Navajo the previous year. It operated to the Seychelles once a week. It was followed by East African Airways
East African Airways
East African Airways Corp. was an airline jointly run by three countries in East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania; and Uganda, which were then part of an East African Community. The airline was headquartered in the Sadler House in Nairobi, Kenya...
in November 1971 and Luxair
Luxair
Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne, operating as Luxair, is the flag carrier airline of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It operates scheduled services to 50 destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Middle East, plus charter and seasonal summer services....
in December of the same year. A BOAC
Boac
Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...
Super VC10
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
was the first jet aircraft to land at Seychelles International Airport on the 4 July 1971. At the time of the opening of the airport in 1972, the following infrastructure existed: The 2987m long runway, and a Control Tower. Ground handling and all other airport operations were carried out by the DCA (Directorate of Civil Aviation).
In 1972 John Faulkner Taylor founded the first local aircraft company called Air Mahé, which operated a Piper PA-34 Seneca
Piper PA-34 Seneca
The Piper PA-34 Seneca is an American twin-engined light aircraft, produced by Piper Aircraft since 1971 and still in production in 2011.The Seneca is primarily used for personal and business flying.-Development:...
between Praslin
Praslin
Praslin is the second largest island of the Seychelles, lying 44 km north east of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 6,500 people and comprises two administrative districts; Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse . The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.It was...
, Fregate and Mahé Islands. This was later replaced by a Britten Norman BN-2AIII
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
. By 1974, some 30 plus different airlines were flying to the Seychelles. Ground handling and all airport operations were being carried out by Aviation Seychelles Company, a company formed in 1973.
Construction works for the substantial expansion of the Seychelles International Airport started in July 1980. Due to the continuous increase in passenger traffic, the actual Terminal Building finally built could cater for 400 more arriving and 400 more departing passengers at any one time. Parking bays for up to six aircraft were catered for as well as a light aircraft parking area capable of handling 5 aircraft. The years 2005/2006 brought further development to civil aviation in the Seychelles. The Civil Aviation Authority Act was enacted on 4 April 2006 for the corporatisation of the Directorate of Civil Aviation to Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority. Works started to upgrade and extend the Terminal Building, which has been further extended to handle at least 5 medium to large size aircraft (e.g. Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
) and 6 small size aircraft (e.g. Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
. Further parking areas were made available to the north-east of the airport to handle the parking of charter, business and long stay aircraft (e.g. some European flights arrive in the morning from 7am but do not depart till the evening from 10pm onwards. This is because it reduces jet-lag as any flight that leaves Seychelles at night will get to most Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an cities in the early morning and vice-versa from the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an cities to the Seychelles, and it also provides sufficient rest for operating crew).
The new facility can handle up to 11 aircraft depending on their size. As the Seychelles is a small country with a population of about 90,000 and that mass tourism is not welcomed by either the government or the people, the size of the airport is reasonably adequate for the country's needs. However, Air Seychelles plans to grow its fleet and destinations size in the near future which might prompt further expansion.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
Values from 2003.| Year | Passengers | Change | Cargo International (Tonnes) |
Change | Aircraft Movements (International) |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 599,408 | 9.52% | 7,829 | 11.84% | 3,751 | 2.11% |
| 2008 | 662,504 | 6.25% | 8,880 | 6.99% | 3,832 | 8.49% |
| 2007 | 706,661 | 11.22% | 8,300 | 20.59% | 3,532 | 10.58% |
| 2006 | 635,348 | 10.26% | 6,883 | 11.65% | 3,194 | 7.31% |
| 2005 | 576,221 | 3.87% | 6,165 | 36.54% | 3,446 | 3.58% |
| 2004 | 554,760 | 3.10% | 4,515 | 12.79% | 3,327 | 3.84% |
| 2003 | 572,512 | 0% | 5,177 | 0% | 3,204 | 0% |