King Mswati III International Airport
King Mswati III International Airport | |||||||||||
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IATA: SHO – ICAO: FDSK | |||||||||||
Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Operator | Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) | ||||||||||
Location | Manzini, Swaziland | ||||||||||
Hub for | Swazi Airways | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 26°21′24″S 031°43′01″E / 26.35667°S 31.71694°ECoordinates: 26°21′24″S 031°43′01″E / 26.35667°S 31.71694°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
![]() ![]() SHO Location of the airport in Swaziland | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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King Mswati III International Airport (IATA: SHO, ICAO: FDSK), originally named Sikhuphe International Airport,[4] is an airport in Swaziland.[5] It replaced Matsapha Airport as the only international airport accepting commercial flights in 2014. It is designed to handle 360,000 passengers per year.
![](../I/m/King_Mswati_III_International_Airport_-_Airfield.jpg)
![](../I/m/King_Mswati_III_International_Airport_-_Plane_Airlink.jpg)
Construction
Construction began in 2003 on this $150m project. The Taiwanese government contributed USD 22m to the project.[6]
It is part of King Mswati III's $1bn millennium project investment initiative to enhance Swaziland's position as a tourist destination, serving as a tourism gateway to Swaziland's game parks, Victoria Falls, Maputo, the Kruger National Park and KwaZulu-Natal game reserves.[7] However, it has been on the drawing board since 1980, and since then Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport has opened and Maputo and Durban airports have been upgraded.[8] There are also environmental concerns since Sikhupe is near Hlane game park, and may put rare species of eagles and vultures at risk.[9]
King Mswati-III International Airport was planned to replace Matsapha airport by 2010, with the latter being taken over by the army.[5][10]
King Mswati-III International Airport was inaugurated on 7 March 2014, despite not yet having an IATA license to operate.[4] Service began September 30 2014.[11][12]
Facilities
Plans include a 3,600m CAT 1 runway, and capacity for 300,000 passengers per year. It would be able to handle Boeing 747 aircraft, and service flights to any destination in the world.[7]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations |
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Swaziland Airlink operated by Airlink | Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo |
References
- ↑ Airport information for FDMS from DAFIF (effective October 2013)
- ↑ Airport information for SHO at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ↑ Google Earth - Sikhupe
- 1 2 "Swaziland king opens 'white elephant' airport". www.news24.com.ng. News24 Nigeria. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
Swaziland's ruler, however, defended the airport, which was built under the name Sikhuphe International Airport but was on Friday renamed King Mswati-III International Airport.
- 1 2 "Sikhuphe to receive the world early next year". Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ↑ "Airport Development News" (PDF). ACI World. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- 1 2 "Sikhuphe International Airport, Swaziland". airport-technology.com. Net Resources International. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ↑ "Swaziland's Millennium Projects". TradersAfrica.com. February–May 2005. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ↑ Hall, James (Sep 13, 2004). "A White Elephant for Those Jumbo Jets?". Inter Press Service News Agency. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ↑ Vilakati, Faith (14 September 2009). "Army to take over Matsapha Airport". The Swazi Observer. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ↑ "Swaziland's King Mswati airport finally gets going". Independent Online. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ↑ "Swaziland: Airlink Forced to Use King's Airport". AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
External links
Media related to King Mswati III International Airport at Wikimedia Commons