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Travellers are set to benefit from the R500 million Mthatha Airport revamp that has resulted in greater interest from low-cost airlines that are considering flying between Mthatha and major cities.
Currently, only SA Airlink offers a single morning and a single afternoon flight between Johannesburg and Mthatha.
Last month, low-cost airline Fly Blue Crane announced that from October, it will start servicing the Mthatha-Johannesburg route.
Anderson Maduneni, Mthatha airport manager, said that there had been a lot of excitement since the announcement, with travellers looking forward to competitive airfare prices.
Nele Jezile, an Mthatha-based frequent traveller, welcomed the news and said affordable airfares meant he could fly to Johannesburg every day, which he couldn’t ordinarily afford.
“In December, I was forced to drive to East London to catch a flight because it is very expensive to fly from Mthatha. A return ticket for two people between Mthatha and Joburg cost R12 000, but from East London it cost R4 500,” he said, adding that more low-cost airlines were needed in Mthatha to reduce the cost of air travel.
Formerly known as the KD Matanzima Airport, after former Transkei ruler Kaiser Matanzima, the airport got a facelift in 2013 with a new runway that is 3.6km long and 46m wide.
Maduneni said that any plane, no matter the size, could now land on the Mthatha Airport’s new runway, which was completed at a cost of slightly more than R300 million.
It was officially opened by former transport minister Ben Martins in July 2013.
The new R212 million state-of-the-art terminal building was finished in October.
Maduneni said several other low-cost airlines had shown a keen interest in using the Mthatha Airport, but that he could not reveal their names until there was something concrete on the table.
He said most of the interested airlines wanted to service the Mthatha to Johannesburg and Mthatha to Cape Town routes.
“I think these two routes are just the start. Most airlines would want the long routes first so that other small routes can be subsidiaries. Some of them are so interested, and all that is delaying them now is securing slots at the OR Tambo International Airport, which is extremely busy,” he said.
He said most of the airlines were more interested in flying in the morning and afternoon as these were the most popular times among travellers and therefore the best market.
“It’s exciting times because the growth of the airport is evident when we draw interest from low-cost airlines. Currently, Mthatha Airport is predominantly servicing the business sector because most individuals whose flights are not paid for by their companies cannot afford to travel.
“Most people who are paying for their travel would think twice or end up using East London Airport. But with these new developments with low-cost airlines coming on board, it means ordinary people can easily afford to fly to Joburg or Cape Town if they are to pay less than R1 000, as Fly Blue Crane, for instance, is promising,” he said, adding this was the best news for the people of Mthatha.
Maduneni said the Fly Blue Crane announcement that it would begin its operations in October could spur other airlines, which had doubted the viability of the routes between Mthatha, Johannesburg and Cape Town, or mistakenly thought SA Airlink had sole rights, to make similar announcements.
“The routes between Mthatha and Johannesburg and Mthatha and Cape Town are very lucrative. It is viable. It is your gold mine for sure. Response has been very good. We are expecting more proposals,” Maduneni said.
The developments at the airport include new navigational landing aids, which make it easy for aircraft to land in bad weather.
Runway lights are being installed so that landings can take place at night.
At the moment, nine car rental companies are operating from the airport, and a much bigger parking space will form part of the improvements.
Phumzile Ndendela, provincial chair of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce, said the revamp of the airport was a positive development as Mthatha was on the verge of being an economic hub.
“We are encouraging more low-cost airlines to take the space that is underutilised. It means the economy of Mthatha is going to grow more from now,” Ndendela said.
He said the economy of Mthatha would flourish if it was looked after well, and a thriving airport was key to achieving that, especially with the city’s potential to be a tourist destination, as it was the place where late former president Nelson Mandela was buried.
