Mack Air

Mack Air
IATA ICAO Call sign
- MKB Greentail
Commenced operations1994
Fleet sizeSee Fleet below
HeadquartersMaun, Botswana
Key peopleStuart and Lara Mackay
Employees110 (2021)
Websitemackair.co.bw
Mack Air Cessna Grand Caravan EX aircraft in Maun, Botswana
Mack Air Cessna Citation M2 over the Zambezi River in flood season
Former company logo

Mack Air is a charter airline based in Maun, Botswana. The company has been operating in northern Botswana since 1994.

The company provides aircraft for charter, scenic, medical evacuation, and services a wide range of tourist destinations within Botswana and the Southern Africa region; as well as providing supply flights to camps and lodges within the Okavango Delta and Kalahari regions of Botswana.[1]

The Botswana Travel Guide says of the airline that it "maintains a good reputation as an reliable, high-quality air charter company which doesn't have ties to any of the camps."[2]

History

Mack Air was founded at Maun Airport, Botswana in 1994 by Lara and Stuart Mackay with a single Cessna 206 Stationair.[3]

In 2007 Mack Air employed 15 people and in 2019 reported 50 employees, including 19 pilots. By 2021 it had 110 employees, including 30 pilots.[4][5][6]

In 2017, the company took delivery of ten new Cessna Grand Caravan EXs as part of its fleet expansion.[7]

In 2019, Mack Air became the first private commercial operator in Botswana to be issued an International Scheduled Air Service Licence.[8]

Accidents and incidents

On 6 January 2010 the company's Cessna 208 crashed and was "extensively damaged" upon takeoff from Piajio Airstrip, Chief's Island, Okavango Delta, Botswana when its engine failed. The aircraft landed on a wet flood plain and overturned. The pilot and the five passengers were all injured, including one passenger who suffered a broken hip. The pilot and four of the injured passengers were evacuated to a South African hospital.[9][10]

Destinations

The following is a list of destinations Mack Air flies to as part of its scheduled services, as of February 2022:[11]

Fleet

References

  1. ^ Mack Air. "Mack Air". Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  2. ^ Botswana Travel Guide. "Flight companies". Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  3. ^ Spaeth, Andreas (July 2023). "Botswana's sky-high bush safari". Airliner World (288): 53–61.
  4. ^ Penton Media (2007). "Operator Details - Mack Air". Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  5. ^ "About Mac Air". Archived from the original on 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  6. ^ "About | MackAir". www.mackair.co.bw. July 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Botswana's Mack Air Takes Delivery of 10 Cessna Caravan EX's". www.avcom.co.za.
  8. ^ https://www.mackair.co.bw/scheduled/
  9. ^ Ontebetse, Khonani (January 2010). "Five injured in aircraft crash". Botswana Gazette. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  10. ^ Aviation Safety Network (January 2010). "Accident description". Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  11. ^ "Scheduled Services | MackAir". www.mackair.co.bw. August 13, 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d Mack Air (22 July 2020). "Our Fleet". www.mackair.co.bw. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
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