MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

St Helena/South Africa commercial weekly flights begin this month

Airlink will operate a weekly service between St Helena and Johannesburg and St Helena/Cape Town (via stopover at Windhoek International Airport, Namibia).

The British Overseas Territory, BOT, St Helena Government and Airlink have announced that the sale of tickets for flights to St Helena Island will commence early in September 2017.Airlink will operate a weekly service between St Helena and Johannesburg and St Helena and Cape Town (via the stopover at Windhoek International Airport in Namibia).

Tickets will be available online via the Airlink website at https//flyairlink.com/, and through all normal IATA global distribution systems. Passengers are advised to contact their IATA travel agent.

For those passengers that are resident on St Helena, ticket bookings can be made via Solomon & Company (St Helena) Plc’s Shipping & Travel Agency at the Malabar in Jamestown. Passengers can visit the Shipping & Travel Agency in person or can contact shipping.manager@solomons.co.sh or telephone 22523.

Ticket prices start at £804 (including taxes) for an economy return fare on the Johannesburg route and £846 (including taxes) on the Cape Town route. The basic fares for the Johannesburg and Cape Town routes are identical but there is a difference in the overall costs due to differing airport taxes.

The below tables highlight the range of return fares from St Helena to South Africa including taxes. Fares are subject to change and are subject to availability.

• St Helena to Johannesburg (return)
• Class • Lower • Upper
• Business • £1,544
• Economy • £804 • £1,244
• St Helena to Cape Town (return)
• Class • Lower • Upper
• Business • £1,586
• Economy • £846 • £1,286

Airlink is currently pursuing Fifth Freedom Rights on the leg between Windhoek and St Helena, this would allow passengers from other carriers to join or disembark the St Helena service at Windhoek. If granted Fifth Freedom Rights this would mean Airlink could sell tickets for the St Helena and Windhoek legs of the journey.

Airlink will also operate a monthly charter service between St Helena and Ascension Island. The flight will commence on the third weekend in November 2017. Thereafter the flight will take place on the second weekend of every month.