St Helena is hoping to move its sole planned departure to the island, initially from Johannesburg, to Cape Town throughout the summer months. This is following a successful period of Cape Town flights before the COVID pandemic.
Photo by Hector Periquin on Unsplash
The St Helena government has been holding production discussions with South African carrier Airlink regarding the change scheduled for 2024 earliest.
The island is exploring the possibility of more frequent flights from Cape Town in future. The St Helena Airport is currently served by just a single carrier from Johannesburg which is managed by Airlink.
After a study by Enterprise St Helena conducted in 2020, it was deduced that people preferred Cape Town as their location for flights rather than Johannesburg.
According to the St Helena Government: ‘Recognising the merits of both destinations, discussions focused on using Cape Town as a hub during the summer months of November to April with Johannesburg, Airlink’s main operational base, being used from May to October.’
While St Helena authorities were satisfied with the fluidity of their Cape Town air connection in 2019/20, it has ruled out launching the new service next year. This is down to logistical and regulatory issues which have been identified. Airlink also has to publish its international schedule 12 months in advance, leaving insufficient time to iron things out.
The St Helena Airport which was developed by the UK government in partnership with a South African construction company, is still fairly new having been opened in 2016. The airport was famously dubbed the world’s most useless airport, while also having one of the world’s most difficult runways to land on.
Before the opening of the airport, the only way to reach the Island was through a five-day cruise which usually departed from Cape Town.
Pictures: Getaway Gallery
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