FINALLY, ALL PLANES TO LAND AT KMIII

SWACAA Communications and Marketing Director Sabelo Dlamini (L) shakes hands with Babsy Mavuso, SWACAA new Senior Communications Officer.

SIKHUPHE – As of the end of September, no commercial aircraft will land at the Matsapha International Airport.

In fact, it is now final that Swaziland Airlink will start operating from King Mswati III (KMIII) International Airport from September 30.
This transpired during a press briefing at the airport yesterday, whereby Swaziland Airlink General Manager (GM) Teddy Mavuso said this will mark a significant milestone in the history of the operations of the airline.

The airline will leave Matspaha International Airport premises which it had been using since its inception, over 10 years ago. 
Mavuso clarified that, contrary to  beliefs that some people held, that the airline was reluctant to migrate to the new airport, they, in fact, looked forward to the relocation.

Mavuso was confident that the state-of-the-art environment provided by the new airport will be an inspiration within Airlink staff to provide world-class service to customers.
“As an airline we are the first to admit that  change is very difficult to accede to and manage, and yet, on the other hand, change is very necessary to allow for the reorientation of the mindset and the flexibility to explore alternatives intended to foster growth in the country’s economy,” stated Mavuso.

 “Swaziland Airlink undertakes to rise to the occasion in this respect and will exert all possible effort to counter and mitigate any challenges that stand in the way of success in the process,” he further said.
Mavuso also revealed that from September 30, the company will be operating on three rotations at the new airport. 

From Mondays to Fridays there will be one morning flight departing from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, at 6:50am to arrive at KMIII at 7:35am, and depart from KMIII at 8:05am to arrive at OR Tambo at 9am.

The mid-morning flight will depart from OR Tambo at 10.05am to arrive at KM III at 10.50am and then depart from KMIII at 1.50pm to arrive at OR Tambo at 2.45pm. The last flight of the day will depart from OR Tambo at 4.05pm and arrive at KMIII at 4.50pm, and then depart from KMIII at 5.10pm to arrive at OR Tambo at 6.05pm. This will be on a daily basis except for Saturdays.

The GM indicated that the adjusted flight schedule will be closely monitored for its demand performance and will be adjusted in accordance with demand and response from the market. Relocation of Swaziland Airlink was supposed to have taken place not long after His Majesty King Mswati III officially opened the new airport on March 7. But because of time needed to prepare all logistics for the shift in operations, the company requested six months, which ends next month.

Asked about relocation expenses that will be incurred by the airline, Mavuso said it has not been quantified as yet. The Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) Executive was also at the press briefing.

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