For the first sentence ever , travelers can book a flight to St. Helena , the remote British island territory where Napoleon Bonaparte spend his concluding long time in exile , Travel + Leisurereports .
St. Helena ’s new drome late welcomed its first scheduled commercial-grade passenger flight , a planer from Johannesburg , South Africa , that touched downon October 14 . From here on out , South African airline SA Airlink Ltd. will provide weekly flights to and from Johannesburg and St. Helena .
settle in the South Atlantic , the rugged volcanic island was previously approachable only by lengthy boat excursion . While official had discussed building an airport there since the 1930s , the idealistic site — one of the island ’s few flat expanses — was near a fosterage ground for the endangered wirebird .
In recent years , the island decided to fill a valley with 8 million cubic meter of tilt , according to Reuters , and construct the travel hub there . A runway and terminus were eventually completed in 2016 , but gusty crosswinds made it unsafe for pilot film to attempt test flights with large aircrafts . The travel hub was deemed " the world ’s most useless airport " by the British pressing , who also condemned the project ’s steep overhead costs . Now , St. Helena functionary are finally get the last joke .
St. Helenais hometo Jonathan , an ancient 185 - yr - honest-to-goodness giant tortoise that might be the world ’s oldest surviving land puppet , andLongwood House , the lodging where Napoleon lived after he was deport from France watch his red at the Battle of Waterloo . ( The military loss leader pop off on St. Helena in 1821 , at the eld of 61 . ) But while the island has historical attractions , strange features , and natural peach to spare , officials are n’t anticipate a vast touristry boom now that the far - flung frontier settlement finally has an airport ( each hebdomadary flight ferries few than 100 rider due to weightiness restriction ) .
Despite its report as a boondoggle , St. Helena ’s airport has already facilitated multiple emergency aesculapian evacuations since it was complete last year , including one fount that take a newborn baby , accord toThe Independent .
" I ’ve seen the headline about the world ’s most useless drome , but for St. Helena , this has already been the most useful airport , " regulator Lisa Phillips enjoin newsperson . " It ’s invaluable . "
[ h / tTravel + Leisure ]
