Rakops, BW 🇧🇼 Closed Airport
BW-0064
-
3000 ft
BW-CE
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: -21.0° N, 24.333° E
Continent: AF
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: FBRK FBRK
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Circa 2011. The airport was officially closed and decommissioned following the construction and commissioning of the new Rakops Airport (ICAO: FBRA) nearby.
Replacement and Obsolescence. The government of Botswana invested in building a new, modern airport with a paved runway and superior facilities to better serve the region. The old airstrip (BW-0064) was a basic, unpaved dirt strip that was rendered obsolete and redundant by the new facility. The closure was part of a national infrastructure upgrade to improve safety, accommodate larger aircraft, and support the growing tourism industry.
The site is abandoned and defunct. An analysis of recent satellite imagery shows that the former runway is no longer maintained and is being reclaimed by nature. Its outline is still faintly visible but is heavily overgrown with savanna scrub and grass. There are no remaining buildings or infrastructure on the site, and the land is not being used for any formal purpose.
The old Rakops Airport was a vital, if rudimentary, link for a very remote region of Botswana. As a basic unpaved airstrip, it primarily served as a crucial hub for the tourism sector, handling light charter aircraft for fly-in safaris. It provided access for international tourists visiting luxury lodges in and around the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Additionally, it was used for essential services such as medical evacuations, government administrative travel, and the delivery of supplies to the village of Rakops and surrounding remote camps.
There are no plans or prospects for reopening this airport. It has been permanently and officially replaced by the new Rakops Airport (FBRA), which is fully operational just a few kilometers to the southeast. All regional air traffic and any future aviation investment are focused on the new, modern facility, making the reopening of the old, inferior airstrip unnecessary and unfeasible.
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