Seychelles International Airport

Seychelles International Airport Aéroport International de Seychelles – Pointe Larue
IATA: SEZ – ICAO: FSIA SEZ Location of Airport in Seychelles
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Operator	SCAA (Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority)
Serves	Victoria
Location	Victoria, Seychelles
Hub for	Air Seychelles
Elevation AMSL	10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates	04°40′27.64″S 55°31′18.67″E / 4.6743444°S 55.5218528°E / -4.6743444; 55.5218528Coordinates: 04°40′27.64″S 55°31′18.67″E / 4.6743444°S 55.5218528°E / -4.6743444; 55.5218528
Website	Official website
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 13/31 9,800 2,987 Concrete
Statistics (2013)
Passengers 726,524 Cargo (metric tonnes) 7,807
Sources: DAFIF,[1] National Bureau of Statistics[2]

Seychelles International Airport (IATA: SEZ, ICAO: FSIA) or Aéroport de la pointe Larue as it is known locally is on the island of Mahé, Seychelles near the capital city of Victoria. 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 southeast of the capital and is accessible by the Victoria-Providence Highway. There is frequent service from the bus station in Victoria, with taxi ranks outside the terminal available to all locations on Mahé Island and several tour operator's 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 a short walking distance north of the international terminal and offers 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/tram 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 freight from all international and domestic movements; it is run by the national airline Air Seychelles. 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

Aircraft at Seychelles International Airport.

The opening of the Seychelles International Airport took place on 20 March 1972 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Wilkenair of Kenya had, however, already started a ferry service between Mombasa and Mahé via Diego Suarez in Madagascar and Astove Island (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 in November 1971 and Luxair in December of the same year. A BOAC Super VC10 was the first jet aircraft to land at Seychelles International Airport on 4 July 1971. At the time of the opening it had a 2987 m 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 between Praslin, Fregate and Mahé Islands. This was later replaced by a Britten Norman BN-2AIII. By 1974, over 30 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, a terminal building was built that could cater for 400 more arriving and 400 more departing passengers at any time. Parking bays for up to six aircraft were catered for as well as a light aircraft parking area capable of handling five aircraft.

In 1981 there was a gun battle at Seychelles International Airport, as Irishman Mike Hoare led a team of 43 South African mercenaries masquerading as holidaying Rugby players in a coup attempt in what is known as The Seychelles Affair.^[3] After their hidden weapons were discovered on arrival a skirmish ensued, with most of the mercenaries later escaping in a hijacked Air India plane.^[3]

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 five medium to large aircraft (e.g., Boeing 767). Six small size aircraft (e.g. Boeing 737).

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 until 10pm onwards. This reduces jet-lag as any flight that leaves Seychelles at night will get to most Western European cities in the early morning and vice versa from the European cities to the Seychelles; it also provides sufficient rest for operating crew.

Role in the War on Terror

The airport has been home to unmanned aerial vehicles operated by the United States Air Force and possibly the Central Intelligence Agency for operations over Somalia and the Horn of Africa. President of Seychelles James Michel apparently welcomed the presence of US drones in Seychelles to combat Somalian piracy and terrorism, dating back to at least August 2009.^[4] At least two MQ-9 Reaper UAVs have crashed into the Indian Ocean near the airport since December 2011.^[5][6][7]

Airlines and destinations

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Statistics

Values from 2003.^{[2][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

Year	Passengers	Change	Cargo International (Tonnes)	Change	Aircraft Movements (International)	Change
2013	726,524	17%	7,807	32%	5,080	5%
2012	623,017	8%	5,943	38%	4,843	8%
2011	674,306	9%	9,613	4%	4,479	0%
2010	618,675	12%	9,242	18%	4,480	19%
2009	554,408	12%	7,829	12%	3,751	2%
2008	628,504	9%	8,880	7%	3,832	8%
2007	690,661	12%	8,300	21%	3,532	11%
2006	617,348	10%	6,883	12%	3,194	7%
2005	562,221	1%	6,165	37%	3,446	4%
2004	554,760	3%	4,515	13%	3,327	4%
2003	572,512	0%	5,177	0%	3,204	0%

Other facilities

The airport has the head office of Air Seychelles.^[16]

References

External links

• Official website
• Airport information for FSIA at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.