Tshane, BW 🇧🇼 Closed Airport
ICAO
BW-0066
IATA
-
Elevation
3700 ft
Region
BW-KG
Local Time
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: -24.017° N, 21.882999° E
Continent: Africa
Type: Closed Airport
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Circa 2011-2014. The airport was rendered obsolete and closed upon the construction and commissioning of the nearby Hukuntsi Airport (ICAO: FBHT). Hukuntsi Airport, which serves the entire sub-district including Tshane, was officially opened in October 2014, marking the definitive end of operations for the old Tshane airstrip.
Economic and logistical redundancy. The government of Botswana constructed the modern, paved, and all-weather Hukuntsi Airport to serve as a regional hub for the villages of Hukuntsi, Tshane, Lehututu, and Lokgwabe. The new airport consolidated regional air traffic, making the rudimentary and unpaved Tshane airstrip unnecessary and economically unviable to maintain.
The site is abandoned and derelict. Satellite imagery of the coordinates confirms the location of a former runway, which is now unmaintained, overgrown with desert scrub, and visibly deteriorating. The access tracks are faint, and there are no buildings or infrastructure remaining. The airstrip is completely unusable in its current condition.
The Tshane airstrip was a basic, unpaved runway that served as a vital lifeline for the remote village of Tshane and the surrounding Kgalagadi (Kalahari) region. It was not a commercial airport but a functional landing strip. Operations were limited to light aircraft and included:
- Government and administrative flights for officials.
- Medical evacuation (medevac) flights.
- Logistical support for the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).
- Limited private and charter flights for tourism or business.
Its primary significance was providing essential air access to an isolated community before a modern, safer, and more capable facility was built.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the old Tshane Airport. Its function has been entirely and permanently superseded by the modern Hukuntsi Airport (FBHT), located approximately 25 kilometers to the west. As Hukuntsi Airport was specifically designed to serve Tshane and the surrounding area, there is no strategic or economic justification to reopen the old, inferior airstrip.