Second airport under consideration for South Africa’s Durban, but city rail link may be best option

When the King Shaka Airport opened to the north of Durban in 2010 (specifically a 'World Cup' project), it was one of very few new airports to open in South Africa in recent memory - indeed, on the entire continent. The airports elsewhere on operator ACSA's network were upgraded, rather than replaced by new ones.

King Shaka replaced Durban International, situated close to the city's downtown, which had a short runway and couldn't be extended because it was in the middle of an industrial area.

King Shaka has gone on to win awards like 'Best Regional Airport in Africa', but it is 60km north of the city, and 15 years after opening there are calls for another new airport to be built in the south of Durban where the old airport used to be (to pacify locals that feel that the city is losing out on tourism).

There are few suggestions that King Shaka is challenged in any way by lack of capacity or that another airport could easily attract airlines there.

Improved surface transport links that speed up the journey to and from King Shaka might be an alternative way of tackling the conundrum, and they are discussed in this report.