The ‘world’s most useless airport’ is about to welcome its first commercial passenger flight, five years later than planned. Environmental and geographical challenges famously delayed the opening of the airport on St Helena, one of the most isolated inhabited islands on the planet, and the project was saddled with the unfortunate moniker.
But on 14 October an SA Airlink aircraft will touch down on the infamous runway after a six-hour flight from Johannesburg. With it will arrive 68 passengers and a new chapter in the history this tiny volcanic outpost in the middle of the South Atlantic.
In 2010, the British government justified the cost of the airport arguing that the additional short-term costs of constructing an airport are outweighed by the long-term benefits. The island receives more than £53m in aid every year.
While islanders and history buffs may mourn the loss of RMS St Helena, which makes her final voyage on 5 February 2018, it is hoped the increase in tourism will provide a much needed boost for the island’s struggling economy as aid is reduced. More flights will have to be added if the airport is to be deemed a success, and not just an expensive white elephant.
But progress is as slow as life on the island: it only got mobile phone reception in 2015. The first luxury hotel on the island, the 30-bedroom Mantis St Helena in the capital, Jamestown, is opening to coincide with the start of the new flight on 14 October. Otherwise, St Helena has a handful of guesthouses, many of which aren’t online and can only be contacted through the tourist office.
For locals, improved access is an opportunity to rebrand the island as somewhere other than just ‘the place where Napoleon died’ and to reveal its other assets. As well as the diverse geology, the surrounding waters are a magnet for marine life. Whale sharks gather off shore in large numbers from November to May and humpback whales migrate through its waters from June to December. Both can be seen on diving and boat trips by the local company ‘Into the Blue’.