Banjul International Airport — Banjul (Yundum), Gambia

Banjul International Airport serves Gambia's capital from the village of Yundum, a short distance outside Banjul itself, at an elevation of 95 feet with a single runway. That runway is unusually long for a country of Gambia's size, a legacy of Cold War-era construction, and it once led NASA to designate the field as a backup emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle program, though the option was never actually used. Gambia forms a narrow sliver of West Africa wrapped around the Gambia River, almost entirely enclosed by Senegal, and this airport functions as the country's sole major gateway for international travel. Tourism along Gambia's Atlantic coast makes up a significant share of passenger traffic, particularly from European charter flights during the cooler winter months. Cargo tied to the country's groundnut exports also moves through the field, alongside the passenger traffic that dominates day-to-day operations at Gambia's only international airport.