King Mswati III International Airport

King Mswati III International Airport (SHO), opened in 2014 near Mpaka in the Lubombo Region, is the sole international airport of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and replaced the older Matsapha Airport (MTS) in that role. Constructed on the Sikhuphe plateau at an elevation of 1,092 ft (333 m), it was conceived as a flagship infrastructure project intended to position Eswatini as a secondary hub for southern African tourism and cargo traffic. The airport's 11,811 ft (3,600 m) runway is long enough for any widebody currently in service, dwarfing the needs of its present timetable, which centres on daily Eswatini Air and Airlink regional flights to Johannesburg OR Tambo (JNB). This outsized infrastructure is one of the defining features of SHO on African airport league tables: by runway length and ramp area it ranks among the continent's larger airports, while by passenger throughput it remains a small-volume field. Named for the reigning monarch and sometimes still referred to by the informal nickname "Sikhuphe," SHO also supports royal and government VIP movements, medical evacuations and occasional charter activity linked to the kingdom's tourism estates in Hlane and Mkhaya. Its strategic value sits in geography: located within easy drive of the Mozambican Ponta do Ouro coastline, Kruger National Park's southern gates and the Maputo corridor, SHO is positioned as a potential alternative gateway whenever demand outgrows Johannesburg or Maputo.