Sounds like a job for a Fat Albert.
ISTR Safair have (had ?) a few C130s and the SAAF would probably be able to help in an emergency.

pax britannica

As far as I know a contract has already been signed for a new regular sea freight service for the time after the decomission of the RMS.

A small amount of air cargo might come handy in urgent cases but air access is supposed to be a passenger service in first place.

With 120 seats the CS100 is smaller than the Boeing 737-800 but clearly larger than an Embraer. What matters is the short field capability of the CSeries. And it is a new modern aircraft with 20% lower fuel burn and 15% overall lower maintenance cost. If the CS100 can handle the windy conditions - it seems to me - this aircraft has the potential to attract and bring tourists.

C Series - Commercial aircraft - Bombardier

I'm not even sure if smaller Embraer or CRJ have the range even for Walvis Bay-St. Helena plus Ascension in case of deviation.
And they need to be ETOPS certified also.

Volare
Yes a new cargo ship contract has been agreed but on a very much reduced schedule to that provided by RMS St Helena and one which would not work for fresh foods , perishables and urgent items . They are looking at keeping the RMS SHL in service for longer but that costs money and the cost savings on the regular RMS service were part of the airport financial justification.

Smaller aircraft as you suggest are ok from a passenegr point of view, I think the Comairs were passenger load restricted anyway but the lack of freight capability has significant economic impact

Pax Britannica

Well, I did not know that expensive air cargo would be a priority. That is a new aspect then. I always thought they want tourists in first place.

Can't wait to see what that secret 'task force' will come up with - and when.

As a merchant shipping man, I would just comment that:

1. Keeping the RMS "St Helena" going for several more years would not be particularly difficult, though a big refit and ideally a re-engining (she has Mirrlees Blackstone engines) would be desirable. This is not too hard to do.

2. From the wind point of view, St Helena is in the trade wind belt, so the wind itself, although not the wind shear, is fairly predictable, and will be somewhat lighter around dawn.

Re the last two posts
Volare, I wouldnt say its a priority but it is extremely important , a lot of stuff has to be imported that is time limited and only air will do unless the RMS ship continues. Also what will the high value tourists eat, they will be paying some very high prices for an exclusive holiday and will expect decent quality fresh food -readily available from S Africa but has to be shipped quickly.

Re Mr M the status of the vessel i suspect the problem with keeping it going is not the cost of servicing / updating the vessel which you point out is in decent shape anyway butt he political issue of runnign a service that was supposed to be replaced by $250 million of airport investment.

While it makes a good story for media malcontents its the poor Saints i feel sorry for with much of their future plans now in dissarray

New St Helena airport issues
 

Doubt it will actually not be used but does look a little scary.

First 737 800 to land;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQiQ...ature=youtu.be

For some background, the original tender documents for the air service stated:-

"The minimum requirement is to provide for 150 return passenger seats (10 business and 140 economy) and 2,000 kg of belly hold air freight per week.
The minimum aircraft seat capacity required is 4 business and 46 economy seats. The operator will be expected to cooperate with international tour operators in arranging group travel starting some 18 months before the commencement of the scheduled air-service and for the duration of the contract thereafter.
The service will be based initially on a minimum of one rotation per week for a B737-800 or equivalent aircraft or up to three rotations per week for smaller
aircraft. The flying schedule will increase in line with passenger demand. The international gateway airport is expected to be located in Africa but options
based on flying direct from Europe (with or without a fuelling stop) will be considered. The operator will be granted sole rights for operating scheduled services on the contracted route."

So there is a definite freight requirement.

737-700 probably a better option?

The newspaper headline was in error and has been corrected to read delayed.

TNT Airways (now owned by ASL Aviation) has one oddity in its fleet, a B757 Combi, which might be an appropriate aircraft for this kind of special mission (it's currently on charter to NATO I believe).

Didn't and ex RAF PI go there as Governor or whatever the "boss" is called a few years back, but get booted out by the inhabitants

Also what will the high value tourists eat, they will be paying some very high prices for an exclusive holiday and will expect decent quality fresh food -readily available from S Africa but has to be shipped quickly.

Some years ago we spent Christmas on Nieue. Served by one flight a week (nearly four hours) from Auckland. Out and back was pretty much the limit of even an ER 737. We were surprised that the food at the only hotel consisted of canned product in the main. Even the fruit salad at breakfast was pineapple chunks, etc straight out of a can. A ship called approximately every two months.
A superb place, but not an island of your South Sea dreams. 95% of the pax were islanders going home with mountains of fresh food.

Looking at that, I'd say a Twin Otter! :}

Hi,

If you want to read the source material for the headlines it is here:

https://www.nao.org.uk/report/realis...rport-project/

(Much) more details here

I spent 2 weeks on the island some years ago as a stopover while sailing from South Africa to brazil.
I was very surprised when I heard that an airport was to be built there as apart from the location chosen, there is no flat land large enough. The location chosen (ond only choice) is quite desperate as it is about 60 - 70° off in relation to the prevailing wind and surrounded by high cliffs on 3 sides. And it is quite a wind. They are trade winds which blow at around 20 knots at sea level, and much more up on top. Standing on the edge of those cliffs, you feel that you are about to take off and the turbulence is quite heavy.
About the ony good thing you can say is that the winds are very steady and blow consistently in the same direction, so there should be no surprises.
Quite how they plan to overcome the issue is beyond me.

Not sure how you switch off the southeast trade wind? Imagine it will take a lot of earth moving to smooth things off. They might have been better doing a fly/cruise option from ASI.

Building an airport which doesn't favour the most common wind patterns? Sounds remarkably similar to Aeropuerto Internacional de las Islas Malvinas / Mount Pleasant Airport.....:rolleyes:

St Helena Airport
 

So who trod on whose corns?