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Flying is the fastest way to get to St Helena
SEE ALSO: This page is about the services offered from our airport. You can also read about the airports construction. To find accommodation here please see our page Where To Stay. You can also Fly Yourself Here.
St Helena Airport is operated by {3}St Helena Airport Limited, to whom operational enquiries should be directed.
Below: Schedule Tickets, Etc. Flight Disruptions Passengers with special needs Airport Website Airbus A318 & Boeing 757
Route Map
The scheduled commercial air service to St Helena commenced on 14th October 2017, provided by Airlink on contract to the Government of St Helena.
Depending upon the season, flights operate either weekly (on Saturdays) or twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Saturdays). Flights operate from either OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg or Cape Town, South Africa. Sometimes the flight continues to Ascension Island. Return flights are normally the same day, but not when the flight continues to Ascension Island, when the return flight is the following day.
Two classes are available: Business and Economy.
On the St Helena-bound leg there is sometimes a stopover at Walvis Bay (airport) (WVB) in Namibia, but this is for refuelling only{10} - it is not possible to join the flight at WVB. There is no stopover on the return flight.
For flight schedules and ticket bookings please contact Airlink or your travel agent{5}.
For prices, availability and to purchase a ticket go to www.flyairlink.com/destinations/flights-to-st-helena or any IATA Travel Agent.
Luggage | Checked Baggage | Carry On Each piece should not exceed 8kg |
---|---|---|
Business Class | 30Kg | 2 Pieces plus 1 slimline laptop bag |
Economy Class | 20Kg{6} | 1 Piece plus 1 slimline laptop bag |
Airport in fog, November 2023{i}
Flight disruptions can occur at any time of year due to poor weather, but are most likely in July-October, our winter. The St Helena Airport website explains more. Historic experience since the scheduled commercial air service began operating in 2017 is that there are very few flight disruptions due to weather, though 2023 was particularly bad, possibly due to it being an El Niño year. Here are some sources of flight disruption information:
The Airport Website
The pre-recorded airport information line on (+290) 26111 (24/7)
The Solomons Airlink ticketing agent on (+290) 22523 (normal office hours)
The Airlink information desk at the Airport on (+290) 25350 (after 10am on flight days)
Our Local Radio also broadcasts flight information and it is sometimes posted on Social Media.
The airport is equipped to handle passengers with special needs, including those with mobility issues and those with pacemakers, etc. More details on the Airport Website.
St Helena Airport has a website at sthelenaairport.com.
Emergency flight, 20th April 2020{i}
2nd flight, 31st July 2020{i}
Flights were suspended during the Covid‑19 Pandemic. During the suspension the Government of St Helena organised flights to and from the UK for the repatriation of Saints and the movement of essential Government personnel. These used different aircraft to the scheduled commercial air service, giving the airport the opportunity to experiment with different aircraft.
The Airport had experience of operating with an Airbus A318 on 20th April 2020, when an emergency flight from the UK chartered from Titan Airways brought medical supplies, Covid‑19 testing kits and a few passengers. Airport compliance manager James Kellet said Although the wind was quite strong on occasions, the aircraft performed very well and the crew gained valuable experience of operating to the Airport. The flight route was via Accra and Ascension Island, travelling back the same way.
A second flight operated at the end of July, again run by Titan Airways but this time using a Boeing 757. This therefore became the largest aircraft ever to land at St Helena Airport and, although not fully loaded, had no difficulty landing and taking off again. It also did some fly-around tests.
These events demonstrated the technical feasibility of operating a direct (not via South Africa) flight to and from the UK, though at the time of writing no plans have been announced for such a scheduled service.
It was the standard airport-security operation, which meant it appeared to have been designed to hassle law-abiding passengers just enough to reassure them, while at the same time providing virtually no protection against criminals with an IQ higher than celery.{n}
Ever wondered why you are asked to turn up such a long time before the flight departs? After all, its not as if St Helena Airport is big and you have to travel miles to get to the departure gate. There arent thousands of passengers simultaneously trying to get through check-in and security. They dont even have to allow time for you to get lost and be found before your flight departs. The whole process for all the passengers should take about half-an-hour; an hour tops. So why is Turn-up time 11am for a 2:30pm flight?
The answer is both simple and, you might think, typically St Helena. You see, there is only one set of customs and immigration officials, and they can only be in one place at a time. They cant be checking the new arrivals (making sure theyre not international terrorists and that they have all paid their entry fees and declared their second litre of Scotch) and at the same time checking the departing passengers for smuggled Wirebirds, etc. So the outbound passengers have to be inspected, documented and safely sequestered first, and then the team moves to the arrivals area to deal with the national threats posed by the incoming terroriststourists.
Puzzle explained!
From the air{o}
Below: Fly here in your private plane? Medical Evacuation Charter Flights
If you have your own private plane flying to St Helena has possible since the airport was completed in 2016. See our page Fly Yourself Here for more.
Since it was completed in 2016 the airport has been used for Medical Evacuations. As at December 2016 it had saved two lives; people who would not have survived the seven day sea voyage to Cape Town.
Charter Flights have been flying here since the airport was completed in 2016. The first tourists to travel by charter flight arrived on 13th July 2016, a family of three brought by Antwerp aviation company The Aviation Factory, using a Bombardier Challenger 300. Basil Read have used many charter flights to rotate its airport staff.
In May 2017 a charter flight was organised by the Government of St Helena to bring home Saints stranded in Cape Town by a breakdown of The RMS St Helena (1990-2018). Flight SA8878, a British Aerospace 146 Avro RJ85, flew from Cape Town via a refuelling stop in Walvis Bay (airport), Namibia, arriving at about 2pm on Wednesday 3rd May. Governor Phillips was on the flight. It then returned to Cape Town to carry people on St Helena who needed to leave.
On 2nd October 2018 the Government of St Helena announced that it had terminated its contract with Basil Read for operation of the Airport and other construction works. Three days later on the 5th it announced that its new company, St Helena Airport Limited, has been certified to operate the Airport. The air service has not been affected by the changeover.
A vulture boards a flight carrying two dead raccoons. The steward looks and says, Im sorry - only one carrion allowed per passenger
.{p}
Below: Aviation Ordinance Drone Zones Map Largest Aircraft Mystery Helicopter - Resolved! Airport Game
Naturally, the new airport requires restrictions on what else can be flying over St Helena. The Aviation Ordinance was enacted early in 2015 and designates an Aerodrome Traffic Zone ATZ (broadly, the approach and departure area) and a Control Zone CTR (the immediate vicinity of the airport). The diagram (right) illustrates these.
The rules depend on what it is you intend to fly. In addition to normal aircraft (which, presumably, you will to fly into or out of the airport, so formal Air Traffic Control procedures must be observed), the restrictions also cover:
Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA), also known as quadcopters, UAVs, radio controlled aircraft or drones(see the Drone Zones Map, below);
Kites;
Large Balloons (e.g. hot-air balloons and tethered barrage balloons);
and even small party balloons when released in bulk (1000 or more).
Whether wind-blown litter is covered is not clear.
The rules also prohibit shining bright lights into the sky, which have the ability to dazzle and disorientate pilots at a time when they are most busy.
You can download a summary of the regulationsⒾ.
Please Note In December 2019 the permissions for the no fly zone were relaxed, allowing a drone to operate in this zone if (a) the activity is for a legitimate research purpose (not explained) and (b) St Helena Airport is notified in advance.
Boeing C-17{i}
As at the time of writing, the largest aircraft to successfully operate to St Helena Airport arrived on 19th May 2023 - an RAF-operated Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The aircraft did circuit exercises and achieved a landing, staying overnight and flying off the next day.
The purpose of the exercise was not disclosed and this, inevitably, led to some speculation:
Some thought that the RAF was testing the airport for possible military use. It has long been proposed (by some) that the only reason the UK Government spent c.£300,000 on an airport for fewer than 5,000 people (around £60,000 per head) was so that it could be used as a Military Airbase in the South Atlantic, perhaps to defend the Falkland Islands in the event of an Argentinian attack (there is no certainty the United States would allow Britain to use the US Militay Airbase on Ascension Island for such a purpose).
Others supposed that, because international cargo transport is now almost exclusively by large container ships that could not possibly be unloaded at St Helena, it is getting increasingly difficult to get anyone to tender for our Sea Freight service and a large cargo aircraft (the C-17 can lift around 75,000Kg) might provide an alternative solution.
Well update the above whan (if?) we are told!
Incidentally, according to The Sentinel: In 2022, this very Globemaster carried the body of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt ahead of the sovereigns state funeral in London.
Some time ago we posted as below. We are grateful to all the contributors (further below) but are pleased to announce that the mystery has now been resolved. John Coyle contacted us with more information about his photo, as follows:
The photo was taken by me in either 1968 or 1969, when I believe HMSZuluwas in the bay. I am also sending you a better quality scan!
In November 2020 he wrote:
There is absolutely no question that the photo was taken between about June 68 and February 69, during the time I was on the island! The slide was processed in South Africa in March 1969: at that time, this was the only way Kodachrome transparencies could be developed, there being no facilities on the island. Your correspondent is mistaken.
Thats good enough for us and we now consider the mystery resolved.
We have seen the image below, thought to date from the early 1960s, of a Navy helicopter landing on the lawn of Plantation House. We are curious to know what ship launched it and when it was visiting. If you can help, please contact us.
We received three replies:
My guess is that its from HMSLeopardor HMSLynx, which visited St Helena together 15-17th August 1959 (see www.armedforcessupport.co.uk). I remember the RM Band concert.
Firstly, it appears HMSLeopardand HMSLynxwere Leopard class Frigates, which didnt have a flight deck, so couldnt have launched this helicopter. The helicopter is a Westland Wasp anti-submarine helicopter. A helicopter with large number 442 and airframe number XT439 is registered to HMSZulu. The website helis.com, gives more detail on Westland Wasp XT439. It was in service from 13th December 1965 to 25th March 1986. It was known to have served with 845 Naval Air Squadron; and with 829 NAS on board the frigates HMSAjax(F114), HMSZulu(F124) and HMSRhyl(F129), and possibly others. So we know which helicopter airframe it is, we just dont know which year or which ship it was from. From photos of Wasps, the paint colour for the numbers seemed to change from white to black in about 1983 (approximately June). XT439 was delivered in 1965, so the photo is between 1965 and probably about 1983.
I looked up XT439 Westland wasp C/N f.9609 on the Helicopter Database www.helis.com/database/cn/213 and the 442 call sign was only used between Aug 1977 until c Jul 1979, whilst it was on board HMSZulu. On 5th Sept 1977 HMSZuludeparted Her majestys Naval Base Devonport in Plymouth as part of Task Group 317.6 for a 7½ month Australia and Far East group deployment, led by HMSTiger. They would have travelled down the west coast of Africa before going around the Cape before heading for Australia. With that in mind it would have been between 5th September 1977 and 21st April 1978 as per the HMSZulus records.
In August 2016 a video game became available on the Google Play store, which allowed you to land a (small) plane on St Helena Airport. We were told that the game featured a reasonably realistic portrayal of St Helena and even incorporated Windshear!
A second airport game was launched in 2018. The new X-Plane extension pack allowed users to fly to St Helena Airport with a variety of planes, including two (the Boeing 737-800 and Avro RJ-85) which were only available in the St Helena pack, which also featured realistic St Helena scenery including Jamestown at night. Players could tackle Windshear, which the games website said only excellent pilots could manage. More at forums.x-plane.org.
The Fake
The Real Thing
One peculiar feature found in the airports common area is the fake British Telephone. This, as can be seen (left) is a not-very-good facsimile of one of the traditional British red-box telephones, but the likeness is poor. Genuine British call boxes can be seen in the photograph (right).
Island callbox
In addition to being a poor replica there seems to be no relevance to the item. Traditional British call boxes were never, as far as we know, deployed on St Helena (our call boxes are as shown inner-right), so the object is not even a poor replica of something that was actually ever here.
We have no idea how the fake came to be at the Airport but we think the best thing to do would be to remove it. Maybe it would make a good hen-house
If you are responsible for the fake, and want to defend the decision to locate it at the airport, please contact us. Wed love to know the thinking behind its placement there and would be delighted to publish your explanation.
Below: Poem Article: First commercial flight touches down at St Helena Did the first flight increase world interest in St Helena? Estimated international arrivals
From the ground
one sees only the butt ends of the clouds
those bits of the blanket
tucked under.
Flying
one sees across the counterpane
rumpled, morning white
as if the earth had spent another restless night.
{q}{7}
First commercial flight touches down at St Helena
www.itv.com/news, 14th October 2017{7}
The long-awaited first scheduled airline service to the British overseas territory of St Helena has landed on the remote South Atlantic island.
True to the much-maligned airports chequered history, it was late.
The UK taxpayer-funded development saw 78 commercial airline passengers land just before 2pm on Saturday, approximately 45 minutes behind schedule, following their departure from South Africa.
St Helena Airport, built with £285 million of funding from the Department for International Development (DFID), was due to open last year but the launch of commercial flights was delayed because of dangerous wind conditions.
Further trials were carried out in August and the airport was given the go-ahead to begin operations by South African aviation authorities.
Airlinks Embraer E190-100IGW aircraft was due to land at 1:15pm local time (2:15pm BST) on Saturday but ended up touching down at 1:58pm (2:58pm BST).
Our Comment: Wed just like to point out that, yes - the plane was 45 minutes late, but that was due to a delay in Namibia. Nothing to do with our much-maligned Airport!
To help answer this we present the monthly statistics report for October 2017 for http://sainthelenaisland.info/ (the flight landed on 14th October):{8}
The following chart was incorporated into an article Airport Opens Up Opportunities On St Helena published on Money Web on 7th November 2013. The article appeared on our page Read articles about St Helena (Older), but has now been archived to our Much Older St Helena Stuff{9} blog. However we thought the data presented in the chart might still be useful.
Naturally these predictions were based on the original airport plan for one 737-800 flight (approx. 230 passengers) per week.
Credits:
{a} Titan Airways{b} Neil Fantom{c} Copyright © South Atlantic Media Services Ltd. (SAMS), used with permission.{d} Governor Lisa Phillips{e} St Helena Travel (group){f} Nick Stevens{g} Neil Fantom{h} Andy Simpson{i} St Helena Airport Limited{j} Tourist Information Office{k} John Coyle{l} Matt Joshua{m} Lord Kelvin, 1902{n} Dave Barry, in Big Trouble{o} Firle Davies @thewhirlinzim{p} Anon{q} Roger McGough
Footnotes:
{1} Titan Airways operated the emergency flight bringing in Covid‑19 medical supplies on 20th April 2020 (when this image was captured).{2} The guns are Royal Navy 32 pounders, manufactured in the 1780s, and were recovered from Banks Battery and restored. More island cannons here.{3} Do you see anything curious about this logo? The symbol is basically a big C with words inside it and an aircraft on the tail. Is it just a coincidence that our airport is officially designated CATEGORY C? We think we should be told
☺{4} What happens if Walvis Bay (airport) is also unavailable has never been disclosed!{5} We do not provide flight schedules here because they vary.{6} Y class passengers get 30Kg.{7} @@RepDis@@{8} Please Note at the time Saint Helena Island Info was averaging around 3,500 pages per day. Average daily usage has recently reached around 11,900 pages from 3,700 visitors (131,400 hits) - 1,000GB of data per month.{9} See more blogs.{10} This is a safety measure. If the flight arrives at St Helena but is unable to land due to unexpected bad weather, the nearest diversion airport is Ascension Island, 700 miles away. If this too is unavailable the aircraft must have enough fuel to safely return to Walvis Bay (airport){4}.