King Shaka International Airport
Facts on DUR
Despite the new name, the airport's IATA code stayed DUR, inherited unchanged from Durban International Airport, the older airport it replaced in 2010 -- proof that a code is tied to the place, not whatever name eventually goes on the terminal building.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport is named for Shaka kaSenzangakhona (c.1787-1828), who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1816 and reorganized its ibutho age-regiment system into a formidable fighting force, expanding Zulu territory through alliances and campaigns during the Mfecane upheaval before being assassinated by his half-brothers in 1828.
Source: Wikipedia
Although 'King Shaka International' was the public's clear favorite from the start, the name still needed formal approval: hearings began in November 2009, the South African Geographical Names Council approved it on 14 January 2010, and the Minister of Arts and Culture made it official on 2 February 2010.
Source: Wikipedia
Officials called the naming delay urgent: KwaZulu-Natal's premier at the time, S'bu Ndebele, said pilots 'cannot fly to a place with no name' as the airport approached its planned 2010 opening while still formally unnamed.
Source: Wikipedia
Despite costing about R6.8 billion (roughly US$900 million) to build, King Shaka International opened in 2010 without a public viewing deck or moving walkways -- deliberate omissions in a design by Osmond Lange Architects and Planners.
Source: Wikipedia
Mount Moreland, a wetland just 2.6 km south of the airport, is a major roosting site for European barn swallows that sits directly under the approach path to runway 06; a pre-construction study found the birds' evening swarms and the airport's flight schedule could safely coexist.
Source: Wikipedia
A British Airways Airbus A380 became the first of its type to land at King Shaka International, on 27 January 2014, for pilot training -- even though the largest aircraft with regularly scheduled service there is the smaller Boeing 777-300ER, flown by Emirates on the Dubai route.
Source: Wikipedia
King Shaka International anchors South Africa's 'Golden Triangle' of domestic air travel alongside Cape Town International and O.R. Tambo International in Johannesburg, with seven passenger airlines and two cargo carriers linking the three hubs.
Source: Wikipedia