Mthatha Airport is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

serving

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

( formerly Umtata), a city in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The airport was previously named K. D. Matanzima Airport after Kaiser Matanzima, a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the former

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

Facilities

The airport resides at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

paved

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated 14/32 which measures . Runway 14/32 was expanded from its previous size of in 2013; previously there was also a

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

runway designated 09/27 which measured .

Military use and control

On 16 May 2012, the Cabinet of South Africa approved a decision to hand over the airport for use by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). On 21 May 2012, the airport was formally handed over to

Lindiwe Sisulu Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu (born 10 May 1954) is a South African politician, member of parliament since 1994, and member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress currently serving as Minister of Tourism since August 20 ...

, then Minister of Defence, by

Noxolo Kiviet Noxolo Kiviet is a South African politician, the former Premier of the Eastern Cape from 2009 to 2014 and former speaker of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (2004–2009; 2014–2019). She is a member of the African National Congress. In ...

, then Premier of the Eastern Cape. Sisulu said that the airport would be used for border security operations, and the SANDF would contribute towards the development of the airport thus building regional transport infrastructure. On 7 November 2012 a C-47TP of the South African Air Force was involved in a landing accident at the airport, damaging its right wing, engine and propeller. Early reports stated that the aircraft was carrying a medical crew visiting former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

at his home in

Qunu Qunu () is a Xhosa rural village in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, south-west of Mthatha on the road between Dutywa and Mthatha. The Mandela family Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was born near Qunu in the village Mve ...

. This claim was later dismissed by the SANDF. On 5 December 2012, all 11 people on board were killed in the 2012 Drakensberg SAAF Dakota crash en route to Mthatha Airport. In July 2013, it was reported that the military was no longer controlling the day-to-day operations of the airport. It was reported that the decision to control the airport had been rescinded by the SANDF. Mthatha Airport was again placed under military control temporarily following the

death of Nelson Mandela Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

on 5 December 2013, as his state funeral was to be held in the nearby rural village of

where he grew up. Mthatha Airport was converted into a no-fly zone reserved for heads of state attending the funeral. Other VIPs and members of the public attending the funeral were advised to fly to Port Elizabeth Airport and

East London Airport King Phalo Airport ( af, Koning Phalo Internasionale Lughawe; formerly East London Airport ( af, Oos-Londen Lughawe) until 23 February 2021) is an airport serving East London, Eastern Cape, East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on th ...

instead. On 14 December 2013, Mandela's body was flown from Air Force Base Waterkloof near

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

to Mthatha Airport for his funeral and burial.

Upgrades

In an initial phase of upgrades to the airport to improve infrastructure, an expanded 14/32 runway was completed in May 2013, allowing larger aircraft to service the airport. On 30 May 2013, an aircraft operated by SA Airlink was the first to land on the expanded runway. The new runway cost R490 million to complete. On 22 November 2013, President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

visited the airport to inspect the runway upgrade. He said that planned future upgrades to the airport included a new terminal building, a new lit helipad, new runway approach lights, a new road, and upgrades to the hangars. A R200 million tender was advertised for a contractor to build a new terminal building. On 28 January 2014, Mthatha Airport gave the Ruwacon contracting firm the task of upgrading the airport's facilities. Ruwacon is expected to construct a new passenger terminal, a rental car facility with accommodations for parking and washing vehicles, a refuelling station, a security fence, and roadways. The first phase of the airport upgrades project is expected to be completed in early 2015. The next two phases of the airport upgrades include the addition of commercial and retail facilities, and new cargo facilities. Flights to the airport where suspended in January 2019 due to the airport's sub-standard rescue and firefighting response times, as well as a lack of aerodrome emergency management systems.https://ewn.co.za/2019/01/25/second-airline-forced-to-suspend-flights-to-mthatha Second airline forced to suspend flights to Mthatha

Airlines and destinations

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Airports in South Africa Transport in the Eastern Cape Buildings and structures in the Eastern Cape King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality