Modibo Keita International Airport — Bamako, Mali

Modibo Keita International Airport, known worldwide simply as BKO, serves Bamako, the capital of Mali, from an elevation of 1,247 feet. The field is named after Modibo Keita, Mali's first president following independence, and is also commonly called Bamako-Senou for the Senou area outside the capital where it sits. As a large airport, BKO functions as Mali's principal international gateway, connecting West Africa to destinations in Europe and elsewhere on the continent. Despite its status as the country's busiest airport, a single paved runway carries the full mix of passenger, cargo, and diplomatic traffic passing through Bamako. Ground facilities have been expanded over time to keep pace with the demands placed on that one runway, which remains central to Mali's trade and travel links, serving as the main entry point for both business travel and humanitarian or governmental missions into the country. Few other West African capitals depend so heavily on a single strip of pavement for this volume of air traffic.