Matsapha Airport is an airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located near Manzini, a city in Manzini District

Manzini District

Manzini is a district of Swaziland, located in the center-west of the country. It has an area of 5,068 km² and a population of 292,000 , and is divided into 16 tinkhundla. Its administrative center is Manzini. It borders all three other districts: Hhohho in the north, Lubombo in the east, and...

 of Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

.

In 2011 it will be replaced by Sikhuphe International Airport

Sikhuphe International Airport

Sikhuphe International Airport is due to open in 2011 in Swaziland. It will replace Matsapha Airport, which serves largely as a charter airport for small regional carriers such as SA Airlink. It will be able to handle up to 300,000 passengers per year....

 and will be taken over by the army. The handover had been expected in 2010 but construction of the new airport has been delayed.

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 of 2075 feet (632 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

 designated 07/25 with an asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 surface measuring 2600 by 45 m (8,530.2 by 147.6 ).

Airlines and destinations

External links

• Everything about Matsapha/Manzini International Airport - History, recent statistics, airlines, planespotting, parking and car rental