First Flight from SA to St Helena as Airlink Announces Weekly Schedule PHOTOS

Well known South African radio personality Kate Turkington was one of the lucky few to be on the inaugural flight of Airlink to one of the most remote islands on earth – St Helena, famous for the Boer prisoners-of-war and for being the place of Napolean’s exile and death. Here Kate shares her photos and thoughts on the trip…

Kate, along with a group of travel writers and tourism gurus, landed on the isolated island in the South Atlantic Ocean on the day the airport opened – 14 October 2017.

“It was one of the most amazing (and shortest) trips of my entire life!” says Kate, and she encourages everyone to “get there… it’s amazing beyond belief.”

“It was a very poignant moment when the solitary bugler played The Last Post for the Boer prisoners-of-war who were buried here…

“… and the Governor HE Lisa Phillips (the first female Governor for 500 years) lays a remembrance wreath…”

“Jamestown, founded in 1600 (although the Portuguese got here first), is the capital of the British Protectorate,” says Kate.

Kate’s full itinerary on the island included the Castle, St James, the oldest church in the southern hemisphere, Jacob’s Ladder, the house where Napoleon died, and a boat trip to spot birds and dolphins.

Until now St Helena was renowned for having the world’s worst and most useless airport; and in recent times, the island has only been accessible by the Royal Mail ship, RMS St. Helena, which took at least three days.

“It was an airport that couldn’t be used until now,” says Kate, adding that it’s “one of scariest runways in the world… but the Airlink plane and captains were superb!” (Due to the potential for difficult wind conditions, Airlink says “safety is our number one priority. The decision on whether a flight takes place as scheduled rests with the pilot – flights will only take place when the pilot is confident that conditions are favourable.”)

The British Overseas Territory is 1,200 miles from the coast of southern Africa and is made up of 47 square miles of sub-tropical paradise. Charles Darwin described it as a “curious little world within itself” after his 1836 visit.

It even has the world’s oldest tortoise (186-years-old)… who posed with the Boer prisoners on the island. (The tortoise, Jonathan, has been making headlines over the past 24 hours as it’s just been discovered his ‘girlfriend’ of the last three decades is actually male.)

Governor Phillips said at the Airlinks arrival ceremony: “We are determined to make sure that air services work to benefit all St. Helenians and bring about a higher standard of living for those on the island. We are open for business and investment and we know tourists will marvel at the beauty of the island. We are happy to welcome our visitors to the ‘secret of the South Atlantic’.”

Airlink is now flying direct to St Helena from Johannesburg and Cape Town, on Saturdays. The flights each land at Windhoek where they connect the plane departs for St Helena. Total travel time is approximately six hours.

Prices for a return ticket from Cape Town to St Helena will cost from £846 including taxes in Economy. A return ticket from Johannesburg to St Helena will cost from £804 including taxes.

All photos (except the Whale Shark) © Kate Turkington and posted here with Kate’s kind permission. Follow Kate on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kate.turkington1

Watch Taming the Winds of St Helena

On 14-Oct @Fly_Airlink launch scheduled flights to #StHelenaAirport, starting a weekly link from #Johannesburg : https://t.co/aJUGOqa6i8 pic.twitter.com/ORWRFCdwQ7

— anna.aero (@annaaero) October 16, 2017

https://twitter.com/DianaSproat/status/919201917250699264