Matsapha Airport Explained

Matsapha Airport
Iata:MTS
Icao:FDMS
Type:Royal movements, flights of the Eswatini Government, mercy flights
Operator:Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA)
Location:Manzini, Eswatini
Elevation-F:2075
Coordinates:-26.5289°N 31.3075°W
Pushpin Map:Eswatini
Pushpin Label:MTS
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the airport in Eswatini
Metric-Rwy:y
R1-Number:07/25
R1-Length-M:2600
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Footnotes:Source: DAFIF[1] GCM

Matsapha Airport is an airport located near Manzini, a city in Manzini District in the center-west of Eswatini. It serves flights of the Eswatini Government and mercy flights.[2]

History

Although a new airport for Manzini, King Mswati III International Airport, was inaugurated in March 2014, Airlink chose to continue flying to Mastapha. However, the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) required the airline to end flights to Matsapha on 29 September 2014 and switch to King Mswati III Airport the following day.[3]

The Matsapha Airport was still planned to be used by the royal family and the army. The airport recorded 70,000 passengers yearly until it closed.[4] All the commercial flights had one destination, the O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. The plan to replace the Matsapha Airport was announced in 2000 by King Mswati.[5]

Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of 2075feet above mean sea level, the runway elevation is . It has one runway designated 07/25 with an asphalt surface measuring 2600mx45mm (8,500feetx148feetm).

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  2. http://www.eswacaa.co.sz/airports/matsapha/ "Matsapha Airport"
  3. http://allafrica.com/stories/201408221546.html "Eswatini: Airlink Forced to Use King's Airport"
  4. Web site: Simelane Mbabane. Lewis. 9 October 2014. Swaziland's King Mswati airport finally gets going. 2021-05-25. www.iol.co.za. en.
  5. Web site: 2012-05-04. Swaziland airport fails to lift off. 2021-05-25. The Mail & Guardian. en-ZA.