Eswatini Air Readies for Launch

Commencement of Flights

Eswatini Air (RN) announced the launch of scheduled passenger operations starting March 26, 2023 – introducing its service in four phases.

Phase 1: Launch service between King Mswati III International Airport (SHO) and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International (JNB), operating two daily flights, starting March 26, 2023.

Phase 2: Launch four weekly flights between King Mswati III International Airport (SHO) and Harare RGM International Airport (HRE), starting April 14, 2023.

Phase 3: Launch a Daily flight between King Mswati III International Airport (SHO) and Durban King Shaka International Airport (DUR), starting May 05, 2023. Additionally, increase the frequency between SHO and JNB to three daily flights.

Phase 4: The final launch phase – introduce three weekly flights between King Mswati III International Airport (SHO) and Cape Town International Airport (CPT) starting June 02, 2023.

“Our reservations and ticketing system is now open for bookings and ticket purchases […] Our resolution, as expressed in our ‘Everyone Must Fly‘ slogan, is to ensure that travel by air inbound and outbound is affordable to all.”

–Eswatini Air, March 2, 2023.

Foreign Operator Permits

Royal Eswatini National Airways Corporation (RENAC) outlined it received a Foreign Operator Permit (FOP) for Zimbabwe, and the FOP for South Africa is in the process.

Airline Designators

RENAC was assigned the IATA 2-letter code ‘RN’ and 3-digit accounting prefix ‘507’. The assigned ICAO 3-letter designator is ’SZL’ and the telephony designator is Eswatini.

Landing Slots

The airline filed applications for landing slots at O.R. Tambo Int’l Airport, King Shaka Int’l Airport, Cape Town Int’l Airport in South Africa and Robert Gabriel Mugabe Int’l Airport in Zimbabwe.

We, however, envisage taking to the skies at the beginning of the next IATA season, which is 26 March 2023 […] While we finalise the processes, we have embarked on the recruitment of required personnel, and training is underway for them to be ready by the launch date.”

–RENAC Statement, Feb. 09, 2023.

Air Operator Certificate

Royal Eswatini National Airways Corporation – RENAC, also known as Eswatini Air, announced it received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in December 2022. The airline plans to operate domestic and regional routes, including Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Harare in Southern Africa – with a duo fleet of Embraer ERJ145 aircraft.

“Continuous market potential analysis will be conducted to assess additional destinations to be added to the route’s airline network.”

–RENAC Statement, via Times of Eswatini, on Dec. 31, 2022.