Eswatini Air regional airline to connect Durban, Eswatini
DURBAN - Through the Sikhuphe/Durban flight route, government seek to strike a deal that will help international tourists destined for South Africa, including Eswatini in their package.
This was revealed by the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe, yesterday during the launch of the virgin flight route from King Mswati III International Airport at Sikhuphe, Eswatini to King Shaka International Airport in Durban, South Africa.
The minister, who was speaking with the voice of the Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Moses Vilakati said reaffirmed the Eswatini government’s commitment in collaborating with its counterpart from South Africa in achieving the African Union Vision 2063 and Southern African Development Community (SADC) aspirations of regional integration.
He said transportation; air transportation in particular, was at the heart of their drive for seamless trade and tourism between the two countries. He said with this milestone, which they were celebrating yesterday, they were in fact rekindling the fire that their national leaders started some many years ago.
“As South Africa is a major international tourists destination in Africa, Eswatini wants to partner with South Africa tourism for mutual benefit and ensure that tourists who are coming to this country (South Africa) to experience the beauty of the African landscape, should also in their package include Eswatini to experience the tranquillity of African culture,” the minister said.
Again, Chief Ndlaluhlaza said Eswatini Air was a regional airline that would not be connecting Durban and Eswatini only, but would enhance the value of the King Shaka International Airport as a regional connecting hub.
He said Eswatini Air would provide effective passenger connection options for those passengers who would be either coming into Southern Africa or going out from other regional hubs such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Harare.
“The future is so wide open, we are looking at adding more regional route networks and we are proud that we are starting this journey with a long-time friend of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Kwazulu-Natal (KZN). It is only when we work together in the region that we can make such dreams a reality,” the minister said.
He added that this route would be one of Eswatini’s gateway offering options to their tourists and business travellers, who wish to connect to various international destinations.
RECONNECTING
Again, the minister said Eswatini and South Africa were reconnecting to each other on civil aviation and they were doing so fully cognisant of the fact that this was just the beginning, as they still had a long way to go. In that regard, he said the two countries’ civil aviation authorities would meet as regularly as might be necessary to identify opportunities, threats, weaknesses and strengths.
For example, he said, they knew that skills in the aviation industry were not so much in abundance, but if they shared the skills in the region, it would not necessary for any of them to worry. He said the experts in aviation needed to take this serious and map the regional civil aviation skills base and build capacity where these skills were in shortfall. He said they should also create a pool to share aviation skills in the region.
“This can start with two countries; Eswatini and South Africa and possibly make it a regional programme at some point,” the minister said.
Moreover, he said with the opening of the sky highway between Eswatini and Durban, they were looking forward to doing good business with KZN and South Africa at large. He added that with this solution, their people would no longer need to spend six to eight hours when travelling between Durban and Eswatini, but just an hour and the rest of the time would be used productively while on the ground in their offices or homes.
In terms of tourist attraction, Chief Ndlaluhlaza said Eswatini had a calendar which was full of activities and festivals all year round. Therefore, he invited the South Africans to come and join them whenever celebrating their culture as travel had been made easy and convenient with this route.