Eswatini Air’s new flight from Manzini arrives in Durban

Eswatini Air’s inaugural flight from Manzini to KwaZulu-Natal touched down at Durban’s King Shaka International Airport on 5 May.

The flight arrived to a warm welcome by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for economic development, tourism and environmental affairs Siboniso Duma as well as the customary water cannon salute afforded to new airlines.

The 50-seater aircraft with dignitaries on board landed on Friday, inaugurating the start of Eswatini Air’s operations to KwaZulu-Natal.

King Shaka International Airport is pleased to welcome a new airline to the flight hub: on May 5, 2023, Eswatini Air will regularly operate flights between King Shaka and Manzini Eswatini. #ACSAllence pic.twitter.com/uOMt04kvKe

— King Shaka Int (@kingshakaint) May 6, 2023

EXPANSION INTO SA

The recently launched Eswatini Air is the national airline of neighbouring Eswatini (Swaziland). The airline took to the skies in March this year, with its first destination being Johannesburg.

The airline started up flights between Manzini and Johannesburg on 26 March, offering convenient direct air services for the many business travellers needing to travel between Johannesburg and Eswatini.

There are plans for Eswatini Air to launch scheduled services to Cape Town from 2 June. The airline already operates flights to Harare in Zimbabwe. These commenced on 14 April.

ALSO READ: South African Airways set for fleet and route expansion

ESWATINI’S NEW FLIGHTS

Eswatini Air will operate flights between Durban and Manzini three times a week.

The airline’s CFO, Amos Mkhwatsha, said that the Durban route would build on the success of the Johannesburg route that was launched in March.

“The numbers have been promising in Joburg as it’s quite a busy route. We hope this would be replicated here,” he said, per Timeslive.

HOTSPOT FOR TOURISM

Demand for flights between Johannesburg and Eswatini is driven mainly by business travellers on the Johannesburg route.

The new flights between Manzini and Durban are geared towards tourism.  Durban is a preferred destination for many people in Eswatini.

“During the festive season you would be amazed at the Swazi tourists who flock to Durban. There are also families scattered between the two and cultural commonalities as well, ” Mkhatshwa said.

Flying to Eswatini is preferred by many travellers since journeys by road into Eswatini are often unsafe.  Poor road conditions and traffic accidents make flying to Eswatini a safer and more convenient option for many travellers between South Africa and the Swazi Kingdom.

ALSO READ: FlySafair bargain ticket sale attracts almost 1.5 million buyers

This article was originally published by Lorne Philpot.