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Airlink has announced that it will offer direct scheduled flights between Cape Town and St Helena Island from December 2024.
SA’s independently owned Airlink will operate flights between Cape Town and St Helena Island from next December.
CAPE TOWN
These flights will operate until March 2025. The seasonal service will operate on Saturdays from Cape Town International Airport.
The airline already operates flights between Johannesburg and St Helena Island. The Cape Town schedule will supplement the Johannesburg flights.
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CAPE TOWN FLIGHT DEMAND
Airlink’s CEO Rodger Foster says that the airline is rolling out these flights as it is seeing increased demand for flights to St Helena.
“In the six years since Airlink was awarded the contract to operate air services between St Helena and the African mainland, we have seen a steady post-Covid recovery and rise in demand for travel to and from the island,” said Airlink CEO Rodger Foster in a statement, per the Citizen.
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CHALLENGING TRIPS
St Helena is not particularly easy to reach from most locations. Cape Town served as the gateway for St Helena with regular ship services over the centuries.
The island is not known for easy landings. Several years ago South Africa’s local franchise of British Airways (operated by the former Comair) eyed scheduled flights between SA and St Helena.
Comair even conducted a test flight to the island in 2016. Sadly, these plans never came to fruition. However, a few years later Airlink launched flights from Johannesburg to the island.
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ST HELENA ISLAND
Isolated in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, St Helena is one of the world’s most remote islands.
Its rugged, volcanic landscape offers opportunities for hiking and exploring nature. Local conservation efforts ensure a spectacular marine landscape perfect for diving and snorkelling.
St Helena has more than 500 plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet.
The island is home to around 4,500 inhabitants. It offers a very tranquil and traditional life, having resisted many of the influences of modern life.
Previously, the only way to reach St Helena was by ship from Cape Town (with a journey time of 5 days). In 2017 the island’s first and only airport opened.