The World's Most Useful Airport [Documentary]

Wendover Productions

Airport Opening Moment and Context

October 2017: Historic first commercial flight landing at St. Helena Airport
Ended 500 years of isolation, cutting travel time from 6 days by boat to 6 hours by plane
St. Helena: British overseas territory, 4,500 residents ("Saints"), 1,100 miles from Africa, 2,000 miles from South America, 4,600 miles from London
GDP per capita: $12,000 vs UK's $40,000
Economy: coffee exports (£92-200 per 100g), tuna, honey, niche tourism

Originally served as stopping point for ships traveling Far East to Europe via Cape of Good Hope
British East India Company ran entire island
1970s: Last ocean liner service ended when air travel became popular
1977: Last shipping line collapsed, leaving island marooned
British government bought RMS Saint Helena ship
- Part cargo, part passenger vessel
- 5 nights Cape Town to St. Helena, then 2-3 nights to Ascension Island
- Connected to bi-weekly RAF flights to UK
- 4 days total UK to St. Helena via Ascension
- Early 2000s: Ship aging, replacement cost up to $100 million

Contract signed November 2011 with Basil Read
Construction began November 2015
4-year construction period
End of 2015: Runway completed, terminal buildings finished, CNS (communication/navigation) equipment installed
February 2016: Airport certified and ready for commercial flights

April 2016: Comair 737 implementation flight
Experienced "wobble" during landing approach - evidence of wind shear
Wind shear caused by strong winds redirected around enormous cliffs at northern runway end
Solution: Land from south (runway 02) instead of north (runway 20)
Problem: Prevailing winds from south meant landing with tailwind
737 would need to be too light for commercial profitability
Comair/British Airways withdrew from service
Media dubbed it "world's most useless airport"

UK Met Office conducted 6-12 months wind data research
New tender for aircraft capable of landing runway 02 with 15-knot tailwind
Service underwritten (not subsidized) by DFID - losses covered, not per-passenger payments

Founded 2012 specifically for St. Helena service
Original plan: Weekly London-St. Helena flights via refueling stop, plus Cape Town service
Scaled back to charter flights London-St. Helena via Banjul, Gambia
October 2016: Test flights with Avro RJ 1000
Proposed Avro jet based on island, twice weekly to Ascension Island connecting RAF flights
Bid failed

ICAO regulations require firefighting capability based on aircraft movement
3-minute response time required despite most days having no aircraft within hundreds of miles
Similar firefighting needs as major airports like Heathrow despite 1-2 flights per week
Staff work multiple jobs - firefighters handle baggage after ensuring safe landing

1:15 PM: Regular Embraer E190 arrival
75 minutes turnaround time between landing and takeoff
Airport becomes community event - families arrive 3-4 hours early
Bank branch, gift shop, luggage wrapping, cafe, restaurant open
Observation deck busier than world's largest airports
Choreographed ground operations: air stairs, ground power, cleaning, baggage, fuel, sewage
Fewer than 10 qualified pilots work route (visit ~once monthly)
4.5-hour return flight to Johannesburg

First 12 months: 3,337 air arrivals vs 2,616 previous year by RMS
Second year: 4,188 air arrivals
Overall visitor numbers stayed similar due to RMS/flight overlap period
No tourism explosion yet - flights expensive, infrequent, indirect except for South Africans
Island remains niche destination

2010 UK DFID business case: Growth model 1,000 tourists (2016) to 30,000 (2040)
Current arrivals exactly on target despite one-year delay
Christmas 2019: First sold-out flights, Tuesday flights added from Cape Town
First year: Airlink turned small profit
Potential future routes: South American city (4-hour flight), Namibia, UK via Cape Verde
British tourists largest demographic - UK route would be "crown jewel"
Next few years crucial for proving commercial viability

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