Saint Helena Airport
| Saint Helena Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Saint Helena Government | ||||||||||
| Operator | Lanseria Airport | ||||||||||
| Location | Longwood, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,017 ft / 310 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 15°57′33″S 005°38′45″W / 15.95917°S 5.64583°WCoordinates: 15°57′33″S 005°38′45″W / 15.95917°S 5.64583°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 St Helena Airport
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Sources: AIP St Helena, St Helena Government
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Saint Helena Airport (IATA: HLE, ICAO: FHSH) is an international airport in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, a remote island in the south Atlantic Ocean.
On 26 April 2016, it was reported the opening of the airport would be delayed indefinitely because of concerns about wind shear; however, on 10 June 2016, the island's government claim these reports are "incorrect" and the airport is "certified and open" as demonstrated by successful medical evacuation flight. The airport is also open to one-off, private flights.
Scheduled air service from Johannesburg was due to commence on 21 May 2016; however, it was suspended before commencement due to the wind shear problem. While the authority is looking for ways to resolve the issue, the authority is also looking for scheduled air services provided by another service provider which would use another direction of the runway that would not have severe wind shear problem but would instead suffer from tailwind.
Saint Helena is more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) from the nearest major landmass and can be reached only by sea. This takes five days from Cape Town, with departure once per three weeks, making Saint Helena one of the most remote populated places on earth, measured as travel time from major cities.
The first consideration of an airport on St Helena was made in 1943 by the South African Air Force, which undertook a survey on Prosperous Bay Plain from October 1943 until January 1944, but concluded that, while technically feasible, an airport was not a practical proposition. From the 1960s, there was an idea to build an airport on the St Helena Island. In 1999, this was taken up by the island government.
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