All set for airport changeover
The new King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy will mean a shorter trip to the airport for Zululanders, but during the changeover travel arrangements will still prove to be tricky for a short period of time. It is advised that if you are flying out before 30 April, but back in after
1 May, you don’t leave your vehicle at the ‘old’ airport. On return you will land at the new King Shaka Airport and be left stranded without your vehicle. King Shaka officials say they will be running regular shuttles between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ airports for a time, but this could delay one’s homecoming.
All systems go
The cut-over date from the current Durban International Airport to the new King Shaka Airport is Saturday
1 May.
All flights into Durban up to and including Friday 30 April, will land at the ‘old’ airport.
Around midnight on that date, all aircraft will be ferried to King Shaka La Mercy, and from 1 May all flights will officially operate out of the new airport.
This is the first time a complete relocation will occur, so if travelers arrive at the ‘old’ airport, they will have a 65km drive north, to the new one.
The King Shaka airport will boast 55 retailers, the runway is considerably longer than the current one at just under 4km compared to the current 2.4km.
This means all aircraft will have improved performance in bad weather.
It is the first airport that is fully equipped to handle the new A380 airbus and has two dedicated parking bays just for these large aircraft.
