Airlink to increase service to St Helena

Source: Luke McKernan via Wikimedia Commons

"Airlink is preparing to ramp up services between the African mainland and St Helena, with a view to returning to weekly flights by mid-October. St Helena is a unique destination with a community of 4 200 people. To date, it has managed to avoid exposure to the various strains of Covid-19.

Airlink is working in tandem with the local authorities and St Helena’s tourism and hospitality sector, to safely increase flights to and from the island," explains Rodger Foster, Airlink CEO and managing director.

Airlink began flying the Johannesburg-Jamestown route in November 2017 under contract to the St Helena Government and it is the island’s only scheduled airline service.

After the Covid pandemic caused an almost two-year hiatus to the service, the airline resumed flights with a fortnightly service in March this year. Although 98% of St Helena residents are vaccinated, most have not been exposed to Covid-19 or any of its variants. Until its Covid entry restrictions are lifted on 8 August, visitors to the island are required to quarantine and must comply with testing requirements.

Flight schedule with effect from 15 Oct 2022

4Z 131 - depart from Johannesburg at 9am and arrive in Jamestown at 1.25pm on Saturdays (the west-bound flight includes a 30min refuelling stop at Walvis Bay)

4Z 132 - depart from Jamestown at 2.30pm and arrive in Johannesburg at 9.15pm on Saturdays (the east-bound flight is non-stop)

Airlink operates a modern 98-seat Embraer E-190 jetliner on the Johannesburg-St Helena route, with flights refuelling en route at Walvis Bay on the Namibian coast. The total journey time is approximately six hours. In addition, Airlink provides a monthly charter air service between St Helena and Ascension Island, which are almost 1,300kms apart.