King Mswati III International Airport , initially named Sikhuphe International Airport in the planning and construction phase, is an airport in Eswatini. It replaced

Matsapha Airport Matsapha Airport is an airport located near Manzini, a city in Manzini District of Eswatini. It serves flights of the Eswatini Government and mercy flights. History Although a new airport for Manzini, King Mswati III International Airport ...

as the only international airport in Eswatini accepting commercial flights in 2014. It is designed to handle 360,000 passengers per year. King Mswati III International Airport - Airfield

King Mswati III International Airport - Airfield

King Mswati III International Airport - Plane Airlink

Construction

Construction began in 2003 on this $150m project. The Taiwanese government contributed US$22m to the project. It is part of King Mswati III's $1bn millennium project investment initiative to enhance Eswatini's position as a tourist destination, serving as a tourism gateway to Eswatini's game parks, either domestic or nearby located ones, such as

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...

, the Kruger National Park and KwaZulu-Natal game reserves. However, it has been on the drawing board since 1980, and since then

Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport ( af, Kruger Mpumalanga Internasionale Lughawe) is located north east of Mbombela in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Construction began in 2001 and it replaced the smaller Nelspruit Airport. It now serves ...

has opened and

and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

airports have been upgraded. There are also environmental concerns since Sikhupe is near Hlane game park, and may put rare species of eagles and vultures at risk. King Mswati III International Airport was planned to replace Matsapha airport by 2010, with the latter being taken over by the army. King Mswati III International Airport was inaugurated on 7 March 2014, despite not yet having an IATA license to operate. Service began 30 September 2014.

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.

Airlines and destinations

References

External links

OpenStreetMap - Sikhuphe International Airport

King Mswati-III International Airport website
* {{authority control Airports in Eswatini