One of the world’s most remote places became a little less isolated on Saturday when the first commercial flight departed for St. Helena, a South Atlantic island that until recently was only accessible by boat and where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his last years in exile.
The SA Airlink plane left Johannesburg on a six-hour journey to the British-ruled territory, which hopes to draw more tourists to the deposed French emperor’s final abode, Longwood House, as well as rugged landscapes, marine life and the novelty of visiting a spot far off the beaten track.
“’Thank you for being part of this historical event,” the pilot said before takeoff. The new weekly air service brings an end to what had been the only regular way to reach the island. The royal mail ship St. Helena, which takes nearly a week to arrive from Cape Town, will stop its voyages in February.
“St. Helena, where you are a long way from a long way,” tweeted Lisa Phillips, the first female governor of St. Helena and two other Atlantic islands, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
The official opening of the St. Helena airport, built for about $380 million of British taxpayers’ money, was supposed to happen in May 2016. But the test flight encountered severe wind shear.
The SA Airlink smaller Embraer E190 conducted 13 flight trials in August.
