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Eswatini Air considers expansion across Southern African Development Community countries

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Eswatini Air considers expansion across Southern African Development Community countries
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Justin Foster Private Aviation Journalist | Simple Flying

Eswatini Air, the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Eswatini, is considering expanding its operations to connect with all countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and potentially adding a new route to Johannesburg's Lanseria International Airport. The airline aims to make air travel more affordable and accessible, contributing to significant growth in traffic volumes.

Since commencing operations in March 2023, Eswatini Air has seen notable growth during its first financial year, which ended in March 2024. The airline has made air travel cheaper and more accessible for passengers traveling to and from Eswatini. As a result, traffic volumes have grown significantly on various routes launched by the airline since last year.

Speaking at AviaDev Africa in Namibia last month, Royal Eswatini National Airways Corporation (RENAC) Director Commercial Getaneh Woldemicheal stated that the airline has a mandate to expand its operations within Southern Africa. "We have a mandate to deepen the integration to all the SADC countries, so they are on the cards," said Woldemicheal. "We are looking at some destinations and evaluating which ones are easy to mature within two to three years. We are considering adding a number of new routes in 2025 and introducing dedicated freighter services to contribute to the Eswatini economy as well as regional economies."

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The national carrier also sees opportunities beyond the SADC region. According to Woldemicheal, there are strong links for business and leisure travel from Southern Africa to East Africa, the Middle East, and other regions. The carrier is considering launching flights to East Africa to connect the tourism segment with Southern Africa.

Woldemicheal highlighted that South Africa remains an important market for Eswatini Air. Currently, the airline offers up to 18 weekly flights from its base at Manzini King Mswati III International Airport (SHO) to South Africa, including 13 weekly flights (up to two daily) to Johannesburg, three weekly flights to Cape Town, and two weekly flights to Durban.

While South Africa’s economy has faced challenges over recent years, domestic and international traffic is expected to increase this year. According to Stats SA data, approximately 734,000 tourists arrived in South Africa from Eswatini in 2023—an 81.7% increase from the previous year.

About 1.7 million road users also travel from Eswatini to South Africa annually. The national carrier believes that by making air travel more affordable within the country, more travelers could opt for flying between these two nations. Therefore, it sees potential in increasing frequencies on its Johannesburg route but is considering flying into Lanseria International Airport instead of OR Tambo International Airport (JNB). "Johannesburg is a major regional hub," said Woldemicheal. "We think that by converting some of the road users to air travel we might increase frequencies... We might be looking at Lanseria [International Airport] as an alternative."

Lanseria International Airport is located about 54 km from OR Tambo and serves as Johannesburg’s secondary airport with lower parking fees and friendlier tariffs compared with OR Tambo.

Eswatini Air currently operates a fleet of two Embraer ERJ145EPs flying routes including Harare and three South African destinations. In light of future expansion plans—including possible longer flights—the airline may consider adding ERJ145LR aircraft or leasing larger capacity planes such as those seating between 70-90 passengers.

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