St. Helena to have airport

Due to open in February 2016, St. Helena Airport will connect the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena, 1,200 miles west of Africa’s southern coast, to the rest of the world by air for the first time. 

Most famous as the final home of Napoleon Bonaparte, the British Overseas Territory of St. Helena is home to more than 4,000 people. It currently is accessible to visitors only via the RMS St. Helena, which makes the 5-day journey from Cape Town once every three weeks. The ship will be retired in April 2016. 

Two airlines have proposed routes to St. Helena. Comair Limited, a South African airline, has been given permission to fly once a week from Johannesburg. Comair operates British Airways flights in South Africa as a franchisee along with their own low-cost airline, kulula.com. They have not announced which carrier they will operate to St. Helena.

The other airline, British startup Atlantic Star Airlines (www.atlanticstarairlines.com), has proposed flights from London, but, as of press time, Atlantic Star does not yet operate any aircraft.