Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Saint Helena Airport, also known as Saint Helena International Airport, serves the remote British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Opened in 2016 near Longwood, it is one of the most isolated commercial airports in the world, built on Prosperous Bay Plain specifically because there was previously no way to reach the island except by sea. It offers a single hard-surfaced runway equipped with an ILS, and remains a fascinating and demanding destination for the simulator pilot given its history of wind shear problems and extreme remoteness.
Saint Helena Airport lies near Longwood on the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean more than 2,000 kilometres from the nearest major landmass. Opened in June 2016 and operated by St Helena Airport Limited on behalf of the Saint Helena Government, it is the island's only airport and its sole means of air access, having replaced a five-day sea crossing from Cape Town as the principal way of reaching the territory. For a sim pilot, the appeal lies in its dramatic isolation, its challenging approach terrain, and its status as one of the world's most remote commercial airfields.
The airport is situated at Longwood on Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean, within the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It was built on Prosperous Bay Plain, a site first surveyed for aviation use by the South African Air Force between October 1943 and January 1944.
Saint Helena Airport has a single runway orientated 01/19, surfaced with a hard surface and lit for night operations. Runway 01 has a landing length of 6,009 feet, while runway 19 has a landing length of 5,349 feet and is equipped with an ILS. Field elevation is 1,017 feet above mean sea level.
Approach can be contacted on 119.1 MHz and Tower on 118.2 MHz. Runway 19 is served by an ILS, providing an instrument approach into an airfield otherwise noted for difficult wind conditions.
The idea of an airport on Saint Helena was first examined in 1943 and 1944, when the South African Air Force surveyed Prosperous Bay Plain and concluded that, while technically feasible, construction was not then a practical proposition. Decades later, in March 2005, the British government announced firm plans to build an airport, funded by the Department for International Development, with completion originally expected by 2010. Analysts have suggested that the UK government's eventual decision to proceed, after long delays, was influenced in part by concerns over the sovereignty dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, Saint Helena lying roughly 3,812 miles from the Falklands. Other anticipated benefits included the development of tourism, faster medical evacuations to South Africa, and the ability to bring in heavy construction equipment for alternative energy projects. The choice of Prosperous Bay Plain was controversial, as the site was recognised as one of the island's most ecologically significant locations and an important nesting site for the vulnerable Saint Helena plover. Runway construction was completed in 2015 and the airport opened in June 2016, with general aviation, charter and medical evacuation flights served from May 2016 following a safety certificate issued by Air Safety Support International on 26 October 2016. Scheduled commercial services began on 14 October 2017, when South African carrier Airlink launched a weekly flight from O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg via Walvis Bay in Namibia, using an Embraer E190-100IGW; a smaller aircraft type than originally planned, owing to wind shear problems that had affected the airport. Following the bankruptcy of Basil Read, the contractor that built and initially operated the airport, the Saint Helena government took over operations and obtained a further safety certificate on 5 October 2018.
Saint Helena Airport continues to be served by Airlink's scheduled flights from Johannesburg via Walvis Bay, along with monthly charter flights connecting Saint Helena with Ascension Island. The airport has previously suffered short closures for safety reasons: in February a major incident was declared and the field closed after checks found the airport's fire engines did not meet international standards, with scheduled flights resuming on 17 February once Category 6 firefighting accreditation had been regained.
