Mkuze Airport Guide

Mkuze Airport (ICAO FAMU) sits in the uMkhanyakude District of northern KwaZulu-Natal, on the edge of an area with one of the highest concentrations of game reserves in South Africa. It has one asphalt runway, 17/35, about 1.8 km long. Press reports call it the second longest runway in the province.

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government launched an upgrade in 2017 with a budget of R32 million. The budget later rose to about R72 million, and public spending on the project has since reached R73.1 million. The work covered resurfacing the runway, a perimeter fence and a two-storey thatch terminal building of 1,100 square metres. The building holds a reception area, small conference rooms, car hire, a lift and a control tower. In November 2022 the provincial Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC handed the airport to the uMkhanyakude District Municipality.

The upgrade aims at aircraft carrying up to 100 passengers. As of March 2026 the airport is not operating scheduled commercial flights and has no committed airline routes. It lacks runway and approach lighting and a working Instrument Landing System, and it has not reached the CAT 4 or CAT 5 status that commercial service would need. Visitors usually fly into King Shaka International Airport near Durban and continue by road.