It was supposed to be a disaster. Honestly, for a few years, it kinda was. If you followed the British tabloids back in 2016, you probably remember the headlines mocking the "world’s most useless airport." They were talking about St Helena Airport, a £285 million project carved into a volcanic ridge in the middle of the South Atlantic. The problem? Wind shear. Radical, unpredictable gusts of wind that made landing a commercial jet feel like trying to thread a needle during a hurricane.
People laughed. They called it a white elephant. But if you’re actually living on St Helena—a tiny speck of land 1,200 miles from the African coast—the airport isn't a joke. It’s the difference between life and death.
Before the first flight touched down, the only way to get to St Helena was the RMS St Helena. It was one of the last working Royal Mail Ships. It took five days to reach the island from Cape Town. Five days. Think about that for a second. If you had a heart attack or a complex surgical need that the small local hospital couldn't handle, you were basically waiting for a slow boat that might not even be in port. The airport changed the math of survival on the island forever.
The Engineering Nightmare of Prosperous Bay Plain
You can't just "build" an airport on an island that is essentially a giant rock sticking out of the ocean. To create the runway for St Helena Airport, engineers had to move 8 million cubic meters of rock. They had to fill in a massive valley called Dry Gut. It’s one of the most significant earth-moving projects in the history of the Southern Hemisphere, yet most people have never heard of it.
The location chosen was Prosperous Bay Plain. It’s a flat-ish area on the eastern side of the island, but "flat" is a relative term here. The runway ends in a sheer drop into the Atlantic.
The wind is the real villain. Because the runway is elevated and surrounded by jagged cliffs, the Atlantic trade winds hit the island and create "rollers." These are invisible rotors of air that can drop a plane’s altitude or shove it sideways in a heartbeat. During the initial trials in 2016, a Comair Boeing 737-800 struggled significantly to land safely. The footage went viral. The British government panicked. The opening was delayed indefinitely. It looked like a total failure.
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How they actually fixed it
They didn't "fix" the wind—you can't fix nature. They changed the planes.
Instead of the big Boeing 737s that were originally planned, the island eventually settled on the Embraer 190. It’s a smaller, more agile aircraft. Airlink, a South African airline, took up the mantle. Their pilots undergo specialized training just for this one strip of tarmac. They have to be ready to abort a landing at a second's notice. It’s high-stakes aviation.
Why St Helena Airport Matters More Than Ever in 2026
We often talk about "remote" places, but St Helena is genuinely isolated. It’s a British Overseas Territory with a population of about 4,500 people, known as "Saints." For centuries, their entire existence was dictated by the schedule of a ship.
When the airport finally began regular operations, it didn't just bring tourists looking for Napoleon’s tomb or the world’s oldest living land animal, Jonathan the Tortoise (who is currently over 190 years old, by the way). It brought fresh produce. It brought specialized medicine. It brought the ability for Saints working abroad to come home for a funeral or a wedding without taking a month off work.
- Tourism shifted: It went from a niche "bucket list" item for people with weeks of spare time to a viable one-week getaway for hikers and history buffs.
- Economic survival: The island’s fishing industry can now export high-quality tuna to international markets much faster.
- Medical evacuations: A flight to Johannesburg takes about six hours. Compare that to the old five-day boat ride.
Is it profitable? Not in the traditional sense. It’s a subsidized service. But asking if St Helena Airport makes money is like asking if a fire station makes money. It’s infrastructure for human rights.
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The Napoleon Factor and the Tourist Reality
Most people want to visit because of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was exiled here in 1815 and died at Longwood House in 1821. Before the airport, seeing his residence was a pilgrimage. Now, you can fly in from Johannesburg on a Saturday and be at his grave by Sunday afternoon.
But the island is so much more than a French Emperor's prison.
It’s the "Postbox Walks." It's a network of trails that lead to some of the most stunning coastal views on the planet. There’s no cell service in the deep valleys. It’s quiet. The air is so clean it feels like you're breathing for the first time. The airport opened this up, but it didn't ruin it. The "useless" label actually helped keep the crowds away, preserving the very thing that makes the island special.
Common Misconceptions
People think the airport is closed or that flights are constantly canceled. That’s just not true. While weather delays happen—usually due to low cloud cover or fog rather than just the wind—the reliability rate has climbed significantly since 2017.
Another myth is that you can just hop on a flight from London. You can’t. Usually, you have to go through Johannesburg, South Africa. Occasionally, there are flights from Ascension Island, but for the average traveler, South Africa is the gateway. This keeps the flow of visitors manageable. The island isn't built for mass tourism. There are only a handful of hotels, like the Mantis in Jamestown.
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Technical Specs for the AvGeeks
If you’re into the technical side of things, the runway is 1,950 meters long. That sounds decent, but when you factor in the "declared distances" for safety due to the wind shear at the "02" end of the runway, the usable space for landing is actually much tighter.
The airport code is HLE. If you’re looking at a flight tracker, you won't see much. Maybe one or two scheduled commercial flights a week, plus the occasional charter or medical flight. But that's the heartbeat of the island.
What You Need to Know Before Trying to Fly to HLE
Don't just book a ticket and wing it. St Helena is expensive. Almost everything is imported.
- Insurance is mandatory: You literally cannot enter as a visitor without medical insurance that covers aeromedical evacuation. If you get sick, the cost of chartering a plane to Africa is upwards of £50,000.
- The "Saint" Currency: They use the St Helena Pound, which is pegged 1:1 with the British Pound. You can use GBP there, but you'll get Saint coins back in change. They are beautiful, but they're worthless once you leave the island.
- Booking ahead: Because flights are infrequent, if one is canceled due to weather, the next one might be full. You need a buffer in your itinerary.
The story of St Helena Airport is a lesson in persistence. It was a PR nightmare that turned into a lifeline. It's a place where 21st-century engineering meets 19th-century isolation. It’s not useless. It’s miraculous.
Moving Forward: How to Plan a Trip
If you're serious about visiting, start by checking the Airlink schedule out of Johannesburg (JNB). Flights typically depart on Saturdays. Ensure your passport has at least six months of validity and that you've secured your entry permit through the St Helena Government's online portal. Focus your itinerary on Jamestown for history and the interior "Green Mountain" areas for hiking. Always keep a few days of "contingency time" in your travel plan in case the Atlantic mist decides to settle on the runway for an extra 24 hours.