Africa’s newest national carrier, Eswatini Air is set to launch its air operation at the end of second quarter 2022.
According to airspace-africa.com, since its inception, Royal Eswatini National Airways Corporation (RENAC) has been offering air charter services and ground-handling services in addition to operating a travel agency named Royal Eswatini Travel Agency (RETA).
The government of Eswatini has now refreshed its mandate to include a scheduled airline operation, Eswatini Air.
While speaking to Aviadev, the airline’s commercial director, Xavier Mashule underlined the plans of the new venture and the reasons behind its creation. Mashule served as Air Namibia’s head of commercial for 10 years and had a stint as its interim CEO till 2020.
“The lack of a national airline is undermining economic growth according to an assessment made the government.” he says.
According to the director, the new airline’s initial focus will be on a route network covering the SADC region with direct, non-stop flights to Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Zimbabwean capital, Harare making up the first 4 destinations.
This route map will be powered by 2 Embraer ERJ145 aircraft which were specifically chosen because of their proven record in the region as well as the presence of a reliable support ecosystem.
A market assessment pointed to a 50-70 seater aircraft as the right fit according to Mashule. The first of these jets will be received on the 9th of March 2022.
With the country receiving over a million visitors annually, the national carrier will be looking to leverage on these numbers as a driver of Eswatini’s air connectivity.
The airline expects to have its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) by the end of March with plans to launch operations by the end of Q2 2022
