MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

St Helena airport granted an “open ended” Aerodrome Certificate

The airport fulfills the UK Government’s commitment to maintaining access to St Helena and provide it with a real opportunity for economic growth

British Overseas Territory St Helena Airport was granted an ‘open ended’ Aerodrome Certificate on Monday, on 3 April 2017, following the visit by experts from the Air Safety Support International.

 The airport is crucial for the development British Overseas Territory St Helena Airport was granted an ‘open ended’ Aerodrome Certificate on Monday, on 3 April 2017, following the visit by experts from the Air Safety Support International. The airport is crucial for the development of the island in mid Atlantic.

“The recent visit by the Air Safety Support International (ASSI) Senior Aerodrome Inspector, Justin Rothwell, and Air Traffic Services Inspector & Safety Development Specialist, Sarah Lee, was part of routine oversight that ASSI takes across all the Overseas Territories, that do not have their own Directorate of Civil Aviation“, said Acting Accountable Manage for St Helena airport, Alan Shaw.

He added that “It is credit to the Team at the Airport that since the last ASSI visit in October 2015 - the first after the Certification of the Airport in May that year - ASSI consider St Helena to be a mature and safe enough operation that an open ended, rather than time limited, Aerodrome Certificate has been issued.

”St Helena ranks amongst the highest in terms of safety and operation which is a great credit to both the Airport Team and the St Helena Government. This has been recognized by ASSI in the issue of the current Aerodrome Certificate.”

In related news it was announced that plans are underway for the commissioning of the Airport Fuel Facility (AFF). There are stringent requirements when dealing with fuel, particularly with Jet A1 fuel, and it is important to ensure that the fuel systems meet the appropriate standards.

In order to commission the AFF, all mechanical and electrical systems have to be checked and verified fit for purpose. The fuel lines will be purged with air and flushed with fuel to ensure that there is no risk of fuel contamination or fuel leakage. Other works like soak testing will follow. If all of these checks are successful, the AFF will be ready for the operational testing.

Construction of the Bulk Fuel Installation in Rupert’s is nearing the final stages. A similar process is then planned for commissioning. The checks are numerous and time consuming in view of the size and complexity of this installation.

In November 2011, St Helena Government signed a Design, Build and Operate (DBO) contract with Basil Read (Pty) Ltd. The contract included £201.5 million for the design and construction of the airport, an additional amount - of up to - £10 million on shared risk contingency and £35.1 million for ten years of operation.