Transport On Saint Helena - Air

Air

See also: List of airports in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Helena does not have an airport but after many years of negotiation an airport building project is now underway, due for completion in 2015. In November 2011 a deal between the British government and South African company Basil Read was signed and the airport is proposed to open in 2015, with flights to and from South Africa.

An airport was built on Ascension during World War II to be used as a staging point for aircraft being ferried from factories in Canada and the United States to the war in North Africa. At the end of the war the airport was abandoned, subsequently re-opening when Ascension started to be used as base for monitoring space launches and ICBM tests. Ascension airport is now known as RAF Wideawake. The only way to fly to Ascension is to fly with the RAF via RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England on an overnight charter, operated (as of September 2010) by an Air Seychelles Boeing 767-300ER. A limited number of civilians are allowed on this flight but fares are high. Transferring from Ascension to Saint Helena takes two days on the RMS Saint Helena.

Read more about this topic:  Transport On Saint Helena

Famous quotes containing the word air:

    “He will place a tax on the air you breathe and on the bread you eat; he will give you a legislation which is as legitimate as it is unjust and instead of reasons, he’ll give you laws. These will grow in the course of time, until you no longer exist for yourselves but for others.”
    —Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)

    “And ‘tis my faith that every flower
    Enjoys the air it breathes.”
    —William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

    “Speak the speech ... trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it ... I had as lief the town crier had spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and as I may say the whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness.”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)