KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) MEC Siboniso Duma officially handed over the upgraded Mkuze Airport, which will play a critical role in reviving tourism business in the region, to the uMkhanyakude District Municipality this week.
The upgrades to the airport include the resurfacing of the 1.8 km runway, the second longest in the province, installing a perimeter fence, and a new two-storey 1100-square-metre thatch terminal building with reception area, small conferences/meeting rooms, car hire, a lift for the disabled, CCTV security, and a control tower. The revamped airport will be able to handle aircraft carrying up to 100 passengers. However, the long-term plan is to build an aerotropolis and develop residential, business and hospitality and leisure properties in the region.
Duma said the new airport would make access to the remote region far easier for visitors.
“It will improve air connectivity through commercial airlines which will increase the number of local and international tourists to the region. This airport will not only stimulate tourism but will drive more tourism product developments and job creation,” he said.
“We want to see more participation of emerging tourism entrepreneurs within the sector, and projects like these will create more opportunities for those that have businesses that are within the tourism value chain. In the longer term, we are planning an aerotropolis (airport city) around the airport, allowing for residential, business, leisure and retail, hospitality, and culture. The region also had 4000 hectares of arable land for agriculture, which opened opportunities for agri-processing, which would provide further opportunities for SMMEs,” Duma said.
The EDTEA has been in talks with potential airlines, and Federal Airlines has been the first to take up the opportunity. Fedair currently flies directly to Phinda game reserve.
Federal Airlines Group leisure sales manager, Jason Werdmuller, said: “This is a great step forward to creating seamless access to the area. The airline is extremely excited to pursue the opportunities that lie ahead, and we are looking at Easter 2023 to start a shuttle flight within the region.
“We are planning to fly from Nelspruit via Phinda to Mkuze (and are) also looking at Ulundi airport and connecting to Durban, where the aircraft will overnight and repeat the stops in return to Nelspruit,” he said.
The airline will run one flight a day, focused on the international leisure inbound market and domestic travellers. He said it would announce its fare structure once it had completed a feasibility study and consulted with the trade.
Northern KwaZulu-Natal, which has the highest concentration of game reserves in the country, is a popular destination for international tourists.
