Flying to Saint Helena
I am fascinated with the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. I can almost guarantee that there will be more articles about Saint Helena in Letters from Earth over time. Hopefully, I won’t be the only one writing them.
For now, here are some basic facts that you need to know about Saint Helena in order to understand how incredible and unlikely the title of this article is. Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of 47 square miles (121 square km) of land with a population of less than 5,000 people. The island is more than 1,200 miles (2,000 km) from the nearest major landmass (Angola on the African continent). Ascension Island is 810 miles to the northwest and Tristan da Cunha is 1,510 miles to the south. Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha are all part of the same British Overseas Territory.
The uninhabited island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. In 1657, Britain granted a charter for the island to the English East India Company which began to populate and govern the island. From that time until today, the only way on and off the island is by sea. The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Saint Helena runs between St. Helena and Cape Town, South Africa on a 5-day voyage. That means that, at a minimum, you must dedicate 5 days to sail to the island and 5 days to return. Larger ships are unable to approach the island and must anchor in James Bay. People and cargo are shuttled to and from shore using ferries and long boats. Quite the experience, I’m sure.
As part of an effort to make Saint Helena financially self-sufficient, the British government funded the building of an airport on Saint Helena. As of today, the airport is substantially complete. The first test flights have been performed to test the navigational aides. Adjustments are underway but the airport is expected to be open for commercial flights by mid-2016. Once open, you will be able to fly to one of the most remote islands on the planet in a matter of hours.
The airport is expected to greatly increase tourism for the island famous for the world’s oldest animal (Jonathan the Tortoise) and the exile home of Napoleon Bonaparte. Also, people living on the island (Saints) will have more opportunities to travel around the world and visit distant family members. Surely all great things for the population of island.
But the addition of the airport will have rippling effects well beyond travel to and from the island. First of all, the type of visitor will change significantly. Right now, visitors are people that can dedicate a significant amount of time for the trip and/or have their own sailboats and time to reach the island. People flying into Saint Helena will only need to “waste” a couple of travel days in order to visit the island. What they will miss is the gradual shift in attitude from the noisy hectic world to the quieter world of Saint Helena. Will people flying onto the island be able to slow down enough to enjoy and marvel at the uniqueness of this island? Will these visitors tend to be younger than the current set? What impact will that have? Will the pace of life on the island itself change? All that remains to be seen over time.
But the biggest impact will be to the residents of the island. From my observations (at a great distance), it seems that the RMS Saint Helena is treated as an extension of the island itself and it serves as an ambassador for the island. It is a lifeline that brings needed supplies to the island on a regular basis. Many of the crew aboard the RMS are from Saint Helena. After the airport begins operating, the British government is expected to decommission the ship. The island government has secured a contract with another shipping line to provide supplies but the trips will be less frequent and the logistics will be different. Of course, the airplanes will likely carry some of the supplies which will help with unexpected needs for smaller items. The end of the government-supported ship may mean increased cargo rates for Saints which will also translate to more expensive goods at the island stores.
At this point, it is not clear to me how the cost of airline tickets will compare to the cost of travel on the RMS Saint Helena. Without the RMS, there will be a limited number of berths available for passengers traveling to and from the island. Also, there seems to be no plans for flights between Saint Helena and Ascension Island. Currently, the RMS visits Ascension fairly frequently allowing Saints working on Ascension to return home on occasion.
Hopefully, the islanders will find a way to use the airport to be able to export products to help the struggling economy. Historically, the island was known for growing and exporting flax seed and products made with flax seed. That industry died out mostly because the costs of transportation became too high. Now, the island produces a small quantity of a well-regarded coffee bean. There are plans to sell the bean in London and maybe The Saint Helena Coffee Company will be able expand exports even further. There is also a distillery on the island that produces spirits from a prickly pear cactus on the island (locally known as Tungi). If you know of other companies on Saint Helena that could benefit from improved transportation, please mention them in the comments.
Another huge project on the island that is also finishing up shortly is the construction of the Wharf at Rupert’s Bay. As I mentioned earlier, currently ships must anchor off the coast in James Bay and people and supplies are ferried to shore. The new wharf will allow these ships to dock directly on the island and offload people and cargo more quickly and safely.
It will be interesting to watch how Saint Helena and Saints themselves change in the years after the airport becomes active. For Saints, the change must be both exciting and scary. The first years into this change will be the most difficult but will smooth out as people and businesses re-calibrate to the new reality. Personally, I will be keeping tabs on it.
I would love for someone that lives on Saint Helena to contribute to Letters from Earth. If you are willing, please contact me directly at James@LettersFromEarth.org or head over to the contact page at LettersFromEarth.org.
