MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands' electoral debate suggests alternative air-link and better facilities for tourism
An alternative north-south air-link and better facilities for tourism development surfaced at the Falkland Islands candidates debate ahead of 7 November General Election during the FIRS/Penguin News press conference earlier this week. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesAir link to Capetown?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 10:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0Yea! how about towing the islands farther into the South Atlantic?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 10:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0Air link to St. Helena and then onto Cape Town :-)
Nov 01st, 2013 - 10:59 am - Link - Report abuse 0What is the status of the airfield at St. Helena?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 11:09 am - Link - Report abuse 0Biguggy 4 - St Helena will not have a long haul aircraft runway that would be needed for a flight to Falklands,their runway designed for medium haul Airbus 320 type flights with Africa.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 12:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0But the idea of an additional commercial flight has been around for a bit and a variety of options are being looked at, along with the harbour development plan that in a couple of years will result in a pier in front of the town centre to handle 100-250 passenger cruise ships to do their cruise exchanges here with the new airlink and get us back to where we were before the Argies banned charter overflights on 2003. Nothing new or secret- all been published months ago.
@3 Have you measured the distances?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 12:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So an island in South America is excepting an air link to eliminate the need to travel through South America?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 01:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Interesting to see how you´re trying to perpetuate the squatering and make it profitable.
@3
Nov 01st, 2013 - 01:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I think that Cape Town would be slightly closer than St Helena, certainly not very much in it.
@7 Falkland Islands
Wouldn't you go out of your way to avoid someone that was trying to steal your home?
@8 I wouldn´t expect the squatter to be willing to give up the squattering, no.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 01:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I've got a name for this new Air Link.....Pie in the Sky Airways....
Nov 01st, 2013 - 01:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0To where exactly, a commercial link would have to be viable...the distances are huge.
Got another one....Fly me to the Moon Airways..
Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars
In other words..........No!
No we kicked out the murdering raping squatters in 1833. The ones that asked for permission to move in were allowed to stay.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 01:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@10 I like Pie in the Sky Airways! Sounds delicious. Fly me to the Moon Airways is not bad, though. LOL!
Nov 01st, 2013 - 02:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@12 Falkland Islands- I would much prefer a return ticket on Pie in the Sky Airways or Fly me to the Moon Airways (I think Richard Branson has registered both of those already) than a one-way ticket on Fuerza Aérea Argentina to the middle of the South Atlantic.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 02:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No, I dont think that the Falkland Islands should name any new airline after RGlands Falklands Invasion Policy - “Pie in the Sky!”
Nov 01st, 2013 - 03:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0As the oil begins to flow, Falklands wildlife tourism grows and the Falklands Antarctic Cruise ship and oil industry terminal comes into use, air links will improve.
The Falkland Islands are at the start of a new era of wealth and opportunity. At some point in the near future the RGs themselves will surely wake up and see how stupid their foreign policies have been and try friendship and cooperation instead of hostility and beligerance.
When Britain last helped Argentina to develop its resources it lead to a golden age that both countries profited from. Since Argentinas support for the Nazis it has remained in a downward ever increasing spiral...
@7 Would you like to look up the word “excepting”, you uneducated moron? As a matter of interest, could you clarify the position of dago, eyetie, nazi murdering genocides? Don't take too long. How fortuitous that exterminating genocides and protecting Falkland Islanders coincides?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 03:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@9 But you are the squaterists. And, given our position as a leading member of the Security Council, we have a responsibility to exterminate genocidal turds.
@12 You're not going to see it. You're going to be face down in a ditch. It's what you deserve. 95% of the argie population needs to be destroyed!
Islas Malvinas and A Voice - Who said an additional airlink had to avoid South America? It would not, all it has to do is avoid Argentine controlled airspace.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 03:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@15 Have considered starting therapy treatment?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 03:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@16 Well, I read “Norman Besley-Clark flagged up the need for an additional air link to service different regions and eliminate the need to travel through South America.” That would be a very stupid idea.
@17 IM
Nov 01st, 2013 - 04:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“@16 Well, I read “Norman Besley-Clark flagged up the need for an additional air link to service different regions and eliminate the need to travel through South America.” That would be a very stupid idea.”
Sounds like that upsets you :-)
Why would that be?
Too bad.
Upset me? Oh no! Seeing you moving your boom booms after CFK´s warning LAN flight agreements could be revised is quite satisfactory.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 05:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0well when all the oil starts flowing just make the airfields at Wide Awake (Ascension) and Mount Pleasant long enough to handle the flight required. wouldn't be to difficult
Nov 01st, 2013 - 08:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Do they allow commercial airlines at Ascension?
Nov 01st, 2013 - 08:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Islas - yes CFK could simply withdraw the overflight permit and thus stop the Lan flight - that is the ONLY was she can as Lan and the Chilean Govt have made it very clear to her that they will NOT stop it themselves.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 09:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0She is not keen to actually do it because:
1 - It would mean that Argentine veterans and the Families of the Argentine Servicemen killed and buried here would no longer be able to visit the islands
and pay their respects to their comrades and family. And these folks have told her they do NOT want to loose the airlink!
2. We would close our borders to all Arg passport Holders(other than next of kin on a special Int red cross charter flight say) and thus Arg would loose permanently its one connection and link with the islands - most likley for ever.
3. Internationally Argentina would be seen worldwide for the aggressive bully that she is - a nation of 40 million threatening a group of small islands with just 3000 people.
So will she ever to it? Unlikley - but at the same time CFK certainly is stupid enough to - possibly as a parting shot as she leaves the presidency .
And Chile will be a bit pissed off as well with her cutting direct links and making it difficult and expensive for several hundred Chilean families to travle to and from each other.
Woul it affect the Islands - of course in the short term and quite a bit - BUT - we are not that stupid - contingency plans are there should it happen. Would it bring us begging to the Sovereignty Table? - 100% neagtive - it would 100% reinforce our desire to never ever have any relations with Arg at all in future.
20-Slattz - Wideawake could take a shuttle(was reserve airfield) so plenty long enough and Mount Pleasant can take a Galaxy so also long enough for anything built at the moment.
21- A Voice - info is that Asc soon will.
@21 there you go Islander1 has answered the question so problem solved, now of to the moon with you, you should be able to make it with all the hot air you spout
Nov 01st, 2013 - 10:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 022
Nov 01st, 2013 - 11:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0We already know Ascension can accommodate large aircraft.
I'd rather not accept your word that it will soon be allowing commercial airlines... so please provide me with your source.
..a link will do...if you don't mind..
24- no link- - but when Leases end and get renewed terms of leases can often change.
Nov 01st, 2013 - 11:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The Islands are not in South America Marv - they're in the South Atlantic - the British South Atlantic :-)
Nov 01st, 2013 - 11:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0A-Voice - overlooked - 25 yrs ago yes Asc was v ery secretive and very difficult for an outsider to visit, major changes these days- private yaughts call by, private jets - they are encouraging and developing tourism- marlin and tuna fishing for a start. Holiday tours on advert in UK - fishing and wildlife and history, civilians fly in twice a week on the RAF passenger flight - yes you need a permit from the Asc Islands Govt first. Commercial Charter flights have no political problem passing through - only reason the current FI Oil operators operate their flights via Cape Verde instread is because they use a Portuguese Airline which naturally has its own facilites including staging crews in cape Verde.
Nov 02nd, 2013 - 12:01 am - Link - Report abuse 027
Nov 02nd, 2013 - 12:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0tut tut..
http://www.islandholidays.co.uk/holidays/south-atlantic/ascension-island.aspx
“For all these reasons Ascension was, until relatively recently, closed to tourism. That has now changed although getting there isn't all that easy. There are no commercial flights and so we fly with the Royal Air Force from Brize Norton.”
Mmmm whom do I believe.....I want to believe the islander....I really do..
And your problem is? Who said that there are commercial flights there? All I said was you fly there at present on the passenger service operated by the RAF.
Nov 02nd, 2013 - 01:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0For many years you flew on a commercial airline chartered by the RAF - now with less operations in Afghanistan and better new aircraft you fly with the RAF themselves on brand new wide bodied aircraft with conventional seating etc service only started 4 weeks ago - prior to that you flew with Hi-Fly(Portuguese) and prior to that with Air Titan (British).
Seems to me that Island Holidays have CONFIRMED what I said!
@7
Nov 02nd, 2013 - 02:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Interesting to see how you´re trying to perpetuate the squatering and make it profitable.”
The squatters were removed in 1982-it did not perpetuate for long, only three months.
Funny isn't it that the previous squatters were there for three months (during 1832-1833 ) too.
Is this a recurring theme ?
22 - you are right in that it will not be done (the pulling of flights)
Nov 03rd, 2013 - 02:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0However this is for different, higher level and diplomatic reasons.
Your given reasons 2 and 3 are not deterrents. Reason 1 ,although true, has waning relevance due to time, not as much a threat in the greater scale as perhaps you think.
Also it has a flaw, a private flight chartered by the bereaved, if denied, could make London very unhappy (they might not like to be associated with the tactic).
Anyway, the overarching point is right, the flights will most likely remain.
3- We would never I hope deny a private charter flight - under the auspices of the Int red Cross. That is what used to happen before the link with Rio Gallegos and our acceptance of Argentine Passport holders.
Nov 03rd, 2013 - 02:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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