History
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 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 between Praslin, Fregate and Mahé Islands. This was later replaced by a Britten Norman BN-2AIII. 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) and 6 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 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 European cities in the early morning and vice-versa from the European 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.
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