President Jacob Zuma challenged the KwaZulu-Natal government to “up its game” in marketing King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) and developing it into SA’s secondary hub airport during the official opening of Dube TradePort, according to Business Report.
He insisted that something was missing in the marketing of the airport by KZN authorities. “The time has come to think of this airport as SA’s secondary hub and not just as a regional feeder airport,” he said. “It should aggressively market itself as a key entry point for international routes.”
The provincial government and Dube TradePort have been fighting a losing battle to get SAA, the national carrier, to re-establish international flights out of Durban. The government is also furious at SAA’s move to drop its Durban-Cape Town route in 2011.
KZN has also failed to lure international carriers to Durban’s new airport, with only Emirates operating a daily flight to Dubai. King Shaka International faces a further setback: Air Mauritius announced last month that it planned to withdraw flights to Durban from October.
