St Helena flights to take off- finnally

COMMERCIAL flights to
St Helena are expected
to begin mid-year, with SA
carrier, Airlink, in the running
to operate the service.
In December, the St Helena
Government (SHG) launched
a request for proposals
to provide air services
to the island at runway
02. In 2015 Comair was
initially awarded a contract
to provide scheduled
commercial air services
between Johannesburg
and St Helena. The flights
were to use runway 20, but
were suspended due to
turbulence and wind shear.
Runway 02’s wind conditions
differ from those of runway
20 and require an aircraft
that complies with runway
02’s restrictions.
According to Kerisha
Stevens, head of news
at SHG Press Office, the
contract for air services to
St Helena will be awarded by
the end of May.
“The new tender is for
anyone who wants to offer
an interim solution until the
St Helena government can
make runway 20 suitable
for a reliable scheduled
service,” says Erik Venter,
ceo of Comair.
SHG is looking at awarding
a contract to one or
more carriers to provide
a minimum once-a-week
flight to St Helena from an
international hub airport
or an airport with direct
connections to the UK or
South Africa. The contract
will also include a service
between St Helena and
Ascension Island.
Airlink is finalising a
proposal to operate the
service and is currently in
the process of acquiring
two E190s that it plans to
use on the route if its bid
is successful. The airline
is also expecting delivery
of three E170s and has
started adding 11 ERJ 140s
to its fleet. The Embraer
190 is highly effective to
operate at St Helena along
with other very challenging
airports around the world,
says Rodger Foster, ceo of
Airlink. An E190, with 11
crew on board, including
two pilots, completed a
successful trial flight to the
island, landing from the
south on runway 02 at the
end of last year.