Buffalo Range Airport (BFO)

Buffalo Range Airport (FVCZ (BFO)) is a public and military airfield located approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) northwest of Chiredzi, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. It is centrally situated between the sugar towns of Triangle and Chiredzi.

Type of Facility and Operations: The airport functions as a civil airport and, as of 2004, also houses the School of Military Training, making it a joint public-military facility. It primarily supports regional tourism, agriculture, and conservancy access, serving as a gateway to conservancies like Save Valley, Malilangwe, and Bubiana, as well as the Gonarezhou National Park within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Operations are modest in scale, focusing on non-scheduled charter flights and private flights. Federal Air provides weekly scheduled charter flights from O.R. Tambo International Airport. The airport is an Airport of Entry, with customs and immigration services available. It can accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 737-700 executive variant. Its operational hours are generally from 07:00 to 17:00 local time.

Notable Features and History: Originally an airstrip owned by the Styles family and used for cattle ranching and cane farming, the land was donated to the government, and the airport was commissioned in 1965. During the Rhodesian Bush War, it was designated as Forward Air Field 7 (FAF). The Chiredzi Air Force base opened around 1976. In the early 1980s, upgrades enlarged the airport to strategic airfield status, with a new bituminous runway (14/32) measuring 1,763 meters (5,785 ft) replacing an older one. The airport's elevation is 1,421 feet (433 meters) above mean sea level.

Current Status: Buffalo Range Airport remains an active civil and military airport, managed by the Airports Company of Zimbabwe. It continues to serve as a crucial air link for domestic and international charter traffic, particularly for tourism and related activities in the surrounding wildlife areas.