Durban International Airport

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Durban International Airport
IATA: DUR - ICAO: FADN
Summary
Airport type public
Operator Airports Company South Africa
Serves Durban
Elevation AMSL 29 ft (9 m)
Coordinates 29°58′07″S, 30°56′52″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 8,000 2,439 Paved

Durban International Airport (IATA: DUR, ICAO: FADN), formerly Louis Botha Airport, is located in Durban, South Africa.

[edit] General

The airport is the smallest of South Africa's three declared international airport gateways (after Johannesburg and Cape Town), with a single north-south runway bordered by the Umlazi Canal to the north and the industrial suburb of Prospecton to the south. The airport is accessible from the N2 and M4 freeways.

Durban has seen a drop in international traffic over the years. Most international flights leaving South Africa are routed through Johannesburg. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Durban's runway is too short for a fully-laden Boeing 747 to take off, making a refuelling transit in Johannesburg necessary for longer flights. This is ironic, given Johannesburg's altitude; long-distance aircraft departing there usually require subsequent stopovers, owing to the reduced fuel load in order to reach take-off velocity on the length of runway given.

Plans to move the airport to La Mercy have been shelved numerous times, because opponents of the idea estimate there is not enough air traffic to warrant the expense. Some argue, however, that both politics and business have vested interests in keeping international air traffic focussed on Johannesburg, regardless of the huge fuel savings to be had by international fights taking off from sea level and at a position far better suited to be a distribution "Hub" than Johannesburg. Moving the airport would, it is hoped, stimulate major international tourism to the city of Durban which, by some estimates, has the second highest urban population in South Africa. However, according to the draft tourism documents prepared for the new airport's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), no new international airlines have committed to flying to Durban, even with a longer runway.[1] The airlines indicated that there is not yet sufficient demand for direct long-distance international flights to the city. The new airport can, however, be justified solely in terms of projected passenger growth, almost all of which will come from domestic routes. The existing airport site is suitable for expansion, but only at tremendous cost, and is able only to handle projected growth up to 2035, not beyond.

The existing airport is also located in the Durban South Industrial Basin, a parcel of land that offers precious flat land for industrial development (Durban's hilly terrain makes it difficult to build). Proponents of the move to La Mercy argue that the land that is currently occupied by the airport is needed for future industrial development in Durban. The new site has for some years already had the major civil earthworks complete, thus saving this very great expendature in developing this facility.

The proposed new La Mercy airport would be called King Shaka International[2], in honour of the famed Zulu leader. This new airport is expected to become operational in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup [3].

In fiscal year 2006-2007 (April 2006-March 2007), the airport is on pace to serve nearly 4,000,000 passengers. [4]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] External links

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