‘Hot air’ threatens Swazi airport

MBABANE – Swaziland’s
only airport faces
imminent closure because
of unhealthy working
conditions for air traffic
controllers. The Ministry of
Enterprise and Employment’s
labour department issued
a directive last week to
close the control tower at
Matsapha International
Airport, located at the
Matsapha Industrial Estate
30 minutes east of Mbabane.
“The working
environment is unfit for
human habitation,” the
ministry said in its citation.
At issue is a faulty
air conditioner that has
not worked in one year.
Temperatures last week
reached 40 degrees Celsius
within the glass-enclosed
control tower. The maximum
permissible temperature is
25 degrees Celsius.
Air controllers tried to
use a fan, but gave up when
it kept blowing away their
flight logs. A large window
was open for ventilation,
but had to be closed during
times of air traffic because
the noise of planes drowns
out radio communications
even with headsets on.
Two airlines, SAA Airlink
Swaziland and Swazi Air
Express, use the airport
daily, as do overnight
courier services.
No one at the Ministry
of Transportation was
available to explain why
someone doesn’t fix
the control tower air
conditioning.
One businessman who
commutes thrice weekly
to Johannesburg said:
“Government is building a
multi-million dollar airport
in the bush, but can’t find
the money to fix the air
conditioner at Matsapha.”