King Shaka International Airport was conceptualized when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent. The airport's 2,400 m (7,874 ft) runway was too short to allow large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 to operate intercontinental routes out of Durban, and the resulting decrease in international air traffic caused Durban to become marginalized compared to Johannesburg and Cape Town. Upgrading Durban International Airport was considered, but a study published in 2007 found that the existing airport would still have serious constraints and would reach its maximum potential by 2025, after which there would be no choice but to develop KSIA. It was also found that it would be 95% more expensive to operate Durban International Airport to its full potential and only then develop KSIA, than it would be to develop KSIA immediately. However, disputes between Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the Dube Trade port firm (which is backed by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial government) stalled the project until national transport minister Jeff Radebe intervened to jump-start the project in 2004. The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium (led by Group Five and Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon) and the Indiza consortium (led by Grinaker-LTA). Both consortiums pre-qualified for the tender in April 2006; however, the tender was awarded to the Illembe consortium, with the Indiza consortium not being considered for failing to meet certain tender requirements. The Indiza group appealed the decision, claiming that the correct tender process had not been followed and that their bid had been unfairly excluded; However, their legal challenge was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court in February 2007. The final obstacle was a delay in the approval of the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The EIA was eventually approved in August 2007; conditions attached were the appointment of an environmental control officer, issues of access from the nearby N2 motorway, and fauna and flora issues; in particular, the impact of construction and airport operations on a nearby colony of barn swallows. Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA. Construction progressed steadily throughout the next two years, with operational testing of the airport beginning in December 2009. The airport handled its first commercial flights on 1 May 2010. Despite the high construction costs, the airport was designed without a viewing deck or travellators. It was unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport would be now that the KSIA was complete. It was originally expected that the airport would be decommissioned and the site (in a prime industrial area) would be redeveloped, possibly as a dug-out port serving nearby automotive assembly and component factories; however, such plans have been put on hold. The Durban International Airport eventually became defunct. British Airways inaugurated a direct link to London's Heathrow Airport in October 2018. It said in December 2020 that it had suspended the service because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite wide expectations that the airport would be named "King Shaka International Airport" (Shaka was the leader of the Zulu nation in the early 19th century), it emerged in October 2009 that the airport needed to undergo a formal naming process. The former premier of KZN, S'bu Ndebele, described the naming process as urgent, stating that "pilots cannot fly to a place with no name". Public hearings on the naming of the airport began at the beginning of November 2009, with most attendees favoring "King Shaka International Airport" as the new airport's name. On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.