Durban International Airport

Durban International Airport
IATA: DUR – ICAO: FADN
Summary
Airport type	Military (temporary)
Operator	South African Air Force
Location	Durban, South Africa
Elevation AMSL	29 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	29°58′07″S 030°56′52″E / 29.96861°S 30.94778°E / -29.96861; 30.94778Coordinates: 29°58′07″S 030°56′52″E / 29.96861°S 30.94778°E / -29.96861; 30.94778
Map
FADN Location in the Durban metropolitan area
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 06/24 8,000 2,439 Paved
Statistics (2009)
Passengers 4,304,740
Source: List of the busiest airports in Africa, Co-located with AFB Durban

Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) was the international airport of Durban from 1951 until 2010, when it was replaced by King Shaka International Airport, 60 kilometres (37 mi) to the north. The airport is co-located with AFB Durban.

History

The airport was opened in 1951, replacing the Stamford Hill Aerodrome.^[1] The original name of the airport was Louis Botha International, named after the South African statesman. The airport maintained this name until 1994 when the political changes that came with that year in South Africa resulted in a change of name to Durban International Airport. While the airport served the domestic market well, the airport suffered from low international passenger numbers and a runway that was too short for a fully laden Boeing 747 to take off.^[2] Due to the short runway and the hub and spoke policy that was adopted in the 1990s (favouring OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg), Durban lost almost all of its international traffic.

Plans to move the airport to La Mercy, approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Durban International Airport, were proposed and shelved numerous times between the 1970s and 2007,^[3] before construction of what was to become King Shaka International Airport began in September 2007.^[4] Construction of the new airport was completed in 2010, with Durban International Airport handling its final flight on 30 April 2010 and all flights transferring to King Shaka International Airport in a single, overnight move.^[5]

Accidents and incidents

• On 30 June 1962, a Douglas DC-4 (registration ZS-BMH) operating a scheduled South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to Durban collided with a South African Air Force Harvard trainer. The DC-4 made a successful emergency landing with 46 passengers and 5 crew; the Harvard trainer crashed with its crew of two parachuting to safety. The DC-4 was subsequently repaired.^[6]
• On 28 December 1973, a Douglas DC-3 (registration ZS-DAK) operated by Executive Funds lost both engines when turning onto final approach and ditched in the Indian Ocean. One passenger drowned out of the 22 passengers and 3 crew.^[7]
• On 18 June 2008, a British Airways Boeing 737-400 (operated by Comair), operating as Flight 6203 from Johannesburg, skidded off the runway at Durban International Airport while landing under adverse weather conditions. The aircraft was reported to have hit a wet patch on the tarmac, causing it to skid and resulting in the right landing-gear becoming embedded in the surrounding earth. The incident caused the closure of the airport for both arrivals and departures for several hours. All 87 passengers and six crew members escaped without serious injury.^[8]
• On 24 September 2009, Airlink Flight 8911 crashed in the suburb of Merebank shortly after takeoff from Durban International Airport, injuring its crew of three and one person on the ground.^[9][10]
• On 19 December 2009 an Emirates Airlines Airbus A330-200, flight EK-775 from Dubai to Durban with 220 passengers, was en route at around 13:30Z about 2 hours prior to estimated landing in Durban, when the aeroplane encountered severe turbulence. A doctor on board provided first aid to the injured on board. The aeroplane continued to Durban for a safe landing. Eight injured passengers were admitted to a local hospital, while 12 more were treated at the airport for minor injuries; all other passengers were offered trauma counselling. Passengers reported that trolleys, baggage, passengers and flight attendants were flying through the cabin, hitting the ceiling and overhead lockers. Interior plastic covering panels were broken, wires were hanging down from the ceiling, while seats and armrests were broken. The initial upset, during which the aeroplane seemed to plunge, lasted for about 10 seconds; the turbulence continued for a couple of minutes. The hospital reported three people received spinal injuries, one had a broken hand, and the other 4 sustained minor injuries.

Plans

The airport was used by the South African Air Force and the Police Air Wing during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, before being decommissioned.^[5]

Although it is currently unclear as to what the future usage of the airport site will be, it is widely expected that the site will be used for future industrial development. The site is located on a large parcel of flat land in the Durban South Industrial Basin, which is already home to much of the city's heavy industry; given Durban's generally very hilly terrain, such a large, flat parcel is ideal for future industrial development, port expansion, or both.^[11][12]

No provision was made during the planning and construction of KSIA to accommodate the South African Air Force base at DIA, thus AFB Durban, 15 Squadron and related support units are still operating from this airport.

See also

• List of airports in the Durban area

References

External links

• Aerial Photograph on Google Maps