The Kingdom of Eswatini’s new national airline, Eswatini Air, has taken a big step towards its launch of operations after being granted an Air Operator’s Certificate.
The Royal Eswatini National Airways Corporation (RENAC), the operator of Eswatini Air, has been working tirelessly to secure the necessary documentation to operate flights to its first destinations, which are Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town in South Africa, and Harare in Zimbabwe.
RENAC has announced that the new national airline, Eswatini Air, has been assigned codes by both the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
IATA has assigned the airline codes RN for its 2-letter code and 507 for its 3-digit accounting prefix. The ICAO has assigned codes SZL as the 3-letter designator and Eswatini as the telephony designator.
RENAC has also applied for landing and departure slots at OR Tambo International, King Shaka International, Cape Town International in South Africa, and at Robert Gabriel Mugabe (Harare) International Airport in Zimbabwe. Once these outstanding matters are cleared, Eswatini Air will update its systems and publish its schedules and pricing, allowing it to commence trading and flying passengers to these destinations.
Although the airline cannot set a definite date for its maiden flight yet, as the turnaround time for the outstanding processes depends on various factors beyond its control, it is expected to take to the skies at the beginning of the next IATA season, which is 26 March 2023. In preparation for its launch, Eswatini Air has begun recruiting the necessary personnel and is underway with their training.
Eswatini Air plans to break its launch into three phases, starting with one destination and adding the other two destinations in less than a month, with the final phase will see the airline add the fourth destination. The exact dates for each phase and sequence of destinations will be announced once the outstanding processes have been finalized.
Eswatini Air is focused on regional flights within southern Africa and has procured two Embraer E145 aircraft to achieve its goal of promoting economic development through tourism.
The airline plans to offer competitive fares on all its routes and establish codeshare agreements with other airlines.
