K. D. Matanzima Airport
Encyclopedia
K. D. Matanzima Airport is an airport
serving Mthatha (formerly Umtata), a town in the Eastern Cape
province of South Africa
. The airport is named for Kaiser Matanzima
(1915–2003), a leader of the former bantustan
of Transkei
. It also known as Mthatha Airport or Umtata Airport.
of 2400 feet (732 m) above mean sea level. It has two runway
s: 14/32 has an asphalt
pavement measuring 2000 by 23 ft (609.6 by 7 ) and 09/27 has a grass
surface measuring 1500 by 30 m (4,921.3 by 98.4 ).
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
serving Mthatha (formerly Umtata), a town in the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The airport is named for Kaiser Matanzima
Kaiser Matanzima
Kaiser Matanzima was a former leader of the Transkei in South Africa.-Biography:Born in Qamata, Eastern Cape, a nephew of Nelson Mandela, Matanzima received the name Daliwonga upon reaching manhood as an "isikhahlelo" . It means "Maker of Majesty"...
(1915–2003), a leader of the former bantustan
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
of Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
. It also known as Mthatha Airport or Umtata Airport.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 2400 feet (732 m) above mean sea level. It has two runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s: 14/32 has an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
pavement measuring 2000 by 23 ft (609.6 by 7 ) and 09/27 has a grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
surface measuring 1500 by 30 m (4,921.3 by 98.4 ).