Richards Bay Airport
Richards Bay Airport (IATA: RCB, ICAO: FARB) is an airport in Richards Bay, South Africa. It is independently managed and not part of the network of larger airports operated by the parastatal Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).
Richards Bay Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | uMhlathuze Local Municipality | ||||||||||
| Location | Richards Bay, South Africa | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 33 m / 109 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 28°44′27″S 32°05′31″E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  RCB Location of Airport in KwaZulu-Natal | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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The Airport is managed by Indiza Airport Management. The Airport is also home to one of the only Aviation Maintenance Companies in the Northern Natal Province, Alton Aero Engineering. South African Airlink currently fly the only scheduled flight service in and out of Richards Bay, using a fleet of Embraer E170 jet and BAe Jetstream 41 aircraft.
In late 2011, after much speculation, it was confirmed that the airport would undergo a major upgrade that would render the airport's status as International. The expansion project however, has been put on hold pending an outcome to the issue of the local township of Mandlanzini, with residents having settled in the path of the intended runway extension. The upgrade comes at a crucial time, with South African Express Airways phasing out the Dash 8 Q300 aircraft. The fleet will be replaced with the new Q400 series aircraft, which is unable to operate out of Richards Bay Airport due to the limitations of the runway and taxiway infrastructure. It is expected that South African Express Airways will continue to operate a handful of Q300 aircraft until the expansion at Richards Bay Airport has been completed.
Traffic statistics
| Year | Passengers | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 83,069 |  |
| 2012 | 80,978 | |
| 2013 | 77,401 | |
| 2014 | 80,205 |  |