The airline also acquired a low-cycle Vickers Viscount 839 which had previously been operated by the Iranian government and the Sultan of Oman's Air Force.

[3] The airline made headlines when on 25 November 1981 a group of 44[6] mercenaries led by Mike Hoare boarded a scheduled Royal Swazi National Airways flight in Manzini to Mahé in the Seychelles in an attempt to overthrow Seychellois President France-Albert René.

The Royal Swazi National Airways F28 was damaged in the ensuing firefight between Seychellois officials and the mercenaries at Seychelles International Airport.

Not long after the aircraft departed Maputo, the hijacker stormed the cockpit with his gun, and demanded to be flown to Australia.

[4][11] Royal Swazi National Airways, which at the time was owned by the Swazi government and Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, a trust managed by King Mswati III, ceased operations to Harare, Lusaka, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi on 12 April 1999.

Still wholly owned by the government, Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation operates independently under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, with a board appointed by the Minister.