Matsapha Airport

Matsapha Airport
Characteristics
ICAO code	FDMS
IATA code	MTS
Coordinates	26 ° 31 '44 " S , 31 ° 18' 27" E Coordinates: 26 ° 31 '44 " S , 31 ° 18' 27" E
Height above MSL	632 m (2073 ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	8 km west of Manzini
Basic data
opening	1960s
operator	Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA)
Terminals	2
Start-and runway
07/25	2600 m × 45 m asphalt

The Matsapha Airport ( english Matsapha Airport , formerly English Matsapha International Airport ) is located south of the commercial area of Matsapha , near the city of Manzini , the largest city of the Kingdom Eswatini . It was the only international airport in the country and was opened in 2014 by the new King Mswati III International Airport. replaced. Today it is only used for charter , government and military flights.

Matsapha Airport is around 25 kilometers from the capital, Mbabane .

history

The runway and airport buildings were built in the 1960s, and these were expanded in the late 1970s.

Planned since 1980, the government of Swaziland built King Mswati III International Airport from 2003. in the east of the country near the Hlane Royal National Park . After the new airport went into operation on September 30, 2014, Matsapha International Airport will, as announced in the Swazi Observer in 2009 , only be reserved for the air force of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force as well as medical emergencies and flights by the royal family.

Destinations

Scheduled flights were operated by the airline Swaziland Airlink (name since 2018: Eswatini Airlink ) to Johannesburg 's OR Tambo Airport around four times a day until September 2014 . Furthermore, joined South African Airways in code sharing with SA Airlink and South African Express the Matsapha International Airport also several times a day with the airport OR Tambo. At times, the Moshoeshoe I. International Airport in Lesotho was also served by scheduled flights.

Web links

Matsapha Airport on the website of Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) (English)
Manzini-Matsapha International Airport profile at the Aviation Safety Network (ASN )
Matsapha Airport (Manzini) MTS at FlightAware (live flight tracking, only for commercial flights, if applicable)

Individual evidence

↑ airport Portrait ( Memento of 27 April 2006 at the Internet Archive ) to Africa Potter (English)
↑ Brochure on Sikhuphe Airport ( PDF , English), no longer online, formerly at dreamcell.co.uk/sikhuphe_preview/Sikhuphe_4pps_leaflet.pdf
^ Army to take over Matsapha Airport ( Memento from February 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Article from September 14, 2009 in the Swazi Observer.
^ Army air wing officers using poor accommodation facilities . Article by Sandile Nkambule from November 15, 2014 in the Swazi Observer, accessed October 17, 2015
↑ Matsapha Airport on the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority- (ESWACAA) website , accessed on July 25, 2020
↑ Eswatini Airlink (English)

[1] rport Portrait ( Memento of 27 April 2006 at the Internet Archive ) to Africa Potter (English)

[2] Brochure on Sikhuphe Airport ( PDF , English), no longer online, formerly at dreamcell.co.uk/sikhuphe_preview/Sikhuphe_4pps_leaflet.pdf

[3] Army to take over Matsapha Airport ( Memento from February 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Article from September 14, 2009 in the Swazi Observer.

[4] Army air wing officers using poor accommodation facilities . Article by Sandile Nkambule from November 15, 2014 in the Swazi Observer, accessed October 17, 2015

[5] Matsapha Airport on the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority- (ESWACAA) website , accessed on July 25, 2020

[6] Eswatini Airlink (English)