Royal Swazi National Airways

Royal Swazi National Airways
IATA code :	ZC
ICAO code :	RSN
Call sign :	SWAZI NATIONAL
Founding:	1978
Operation stopped:	1999
Seat:	Manzini , Swaziland
Home airport :	Matsapha Airport
Fleet size:	2
Aims:	international
Royal Swazi National Airways ceased operations in 1999. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Royal Swazi National Airways (officially Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation ) was a Swaziland State airline that ceased operations in 1999.

history

Royal Swazi National Airways was founded on January 1, 1978 as a state company to take over the flight services of the private Swazi Air , which was founded in 1962 with South African participation and used a Vickers Viscount on regional scheduled flights .

Royal Swazi National Airways' first aircraft was a Fokker F28-3000 , which was delivered in July 1978 and was used from August 1, 1978. At the same time, the predecessor Swazi Air ceased operations. The company initially offered regular services to Blantyre , Durban , Johannesburg and Lusaka . In November 1978 it opened a connection to Port Louis ( Mauritius ) via Antananarivo ( Madagascar ). The company then added Nairobi and Salisbury (renamed Harare in 1982 ) to the flight plan.

On November 25, 1981, a group of 44 mercenaries disguised as athletes used a company flight to Mahé Airport to oust the Seychelles President France-Albert René . The attempted overturn ended in a firefight at the airport, in which the Fokker 28 was damaged. The company then discontinued the route to the Seychelles, which was opened in May 1981. Until the aircraft was repaired, a Fokker F-27 and a Vickers Viscount were leased one after the other .

In addition to the Fokker 28, a leased, brand-new Fokker 100 was used from January 1994 . Royal Swazi National Airways briefly leased both aircraft to other companies, including Air Mauritanie and Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique .

Royal Swazi National Airways merged with the newly founded Swaziland Airlink (renamed Eswatini Airlink in 2018 ), in which the state of Swaziland holds 60% and the South African airline Airlink 40%. At the same time, the company ceased its own flight operations in April 1999.

Former goals

Throughout its history, Royal Swazi National Airways has operated scheduled flights to Botswana , Kenya , Madagascar , Malawi , Mauritius , Mozambique , Zimbabwe , Zambia , Seychelles , South Africa and Tanzania . However, not all countries were served at the same time.

fleet

Royal Swazi National Airways operated the following types of aircraft:

• Boeing 737-200 (temporarily leased from LAM )
• Fokker F-27-200 (rented from Comair )
• Fokker F28-3000 (operated from 1978 to 1999)
• Fokker 100 (operated from 1994 to 1999)
• Vickers Viscount 761 (leased from the South African United Air )

See also

• Former Airlines List (Africa)

Web links

• Flight schedules of the Royal Swazi National Airways (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Aero, issue 226, year 1987
2. ^ Royal Swazi National Airways, flight plan 1978
3. ^ Royal Swazi National Airways, flight plan November 1, 1980
4. ^ Encyclopedia of African Airlines, Ben R. Guttery, p. 206
5. ↑ Times of Swaziland, Hijacking a Swazi Aircraft, November 17, 2013
6. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 82
7. ↑ Royal Swazi privatized
8. ^ Airlines Swaziland , accessed January 26, 2015
9. ↑ Klee, Ulrich & Bucher, Frank et al .: jp airline-fleets international 2000/2001. Zurich Airport 2000, p. 739
10. ^ Royal Swazi National Airways, flight plans 1978, 1980, 1982, 1988
11. ^ Royal Swazi fleet details , accessed January 26, 2015
12. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, various years