MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

St Helena/South Africa flights will resume March 26, Jamestown

South Africa's Airlink will also have a monthly flight St Helena/Ascension Island

The St Helena government has announced the resumption of Airlink flights between Johannesburg, South Africa, and St Helena island commending 26 March. The Airlink service has been discontinued since March 20 because of the pandemic. The resumption also means a monthly inter-island service to Ascension Island.

In a statement the St Helena government expressed gratitude towards the South African airline. “Thanks are extended to Airlink for the ongoing support and commitment during these difficult times”.

For those 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 contact them via email: shipping-travelmanager@solomons.co.sh or via tel: 22523.

Ticket bookings for the inter-island service between St Helena and Ascension can be made via the Ascension Island Government Finance Office in Georgetown. Passengers can visit the Finance Office in person or contact them via: flight.bookings@ascension.gov.ac or by telephone on 67000 extension 115.

Airlink will offer additional inter island services during periods of peak demand. Titan Airways will continue charter services between the UK, St Helena and Ascension until March 26.

St Helena is a British Overseas Territory. It extends over 122km² and, before the completion of the airport in 2015 was one of the most isolated inhabited islands on earth, as it does not lie on an international shipping route.

Historically, the island is known for Napoleon Bonaparte having been placed in exile there in 1815. He died on the island in 1821.

St Helena's nearest neighbor is Ascension Island, 1 100km to the north west, while the coast of Brazil is 4 900km away and Walvis Bay harbor in Namibia and Cape Town are 1 900km and 2 400km away respectively.

Before the pandemic, about 2 000 tourists visited the island of St Helena each year.

The island's first airport, situated about 14km outside the capital Jamestown, was completed only in 2015. Before that, the island could only be reached by sea.