Flying to St Helena Airport

in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean you'll find one of the most remote inhabited places on planet Earth until recently the only way to get here was to spend five days on a boat in this video we'll explore the newest way to travel to the secret of the South Atlantic hello jet-setters I'm Jeb Brooks from greener grass Calm there are a handful of aviation experiences every of geeks should have things like the island huh the Pacific having a hamburger the in-and-out burger at LAX well there's a new one in town it's flying to st. Helena and I got the chance to try it out I hope you'll enjoy this video in which we explore this relatively new service to a pretty new airport let's check it out st. Halina is a tiny island it's home to about 4,500 people and sits in the South Atlantic Ocean between Angola and Brazil yeah it's remote but it's also beautiful I've wanted to visit st. Helena for a long time its role in the Age of Exploration cannot be understated the Portuguese used it as a secret base for restocking their ships in fact it left a herd of goats and planted a citrus tree orchard there it then became a key possession of the British East India Company before it was suddenly converted into a prison for the world's most feared man Napoleon he died there too today it's a fascinating British overseas territory until 2017 it was only possible to get here by booking passage on the RMS st. Helena a ship that linked it with Cape Town that trip took five days everything changed however on October 14th 2017 when the st. Helena Airport opened to commercial flights linking the island to the mainland in a matter of hours not days before opening the airport faced all kinds of challenges related mostly to its remote location and difficult terrain in this video we'll explore the airport in order to understand what makes it one of the world's most extreme but first if you like travel an aviation please click the subscribe button and ring that notifications out so you can be among the first to note when I post a new video I started my day in Johannesburg we flew first of all the space at tiny port town in Namibia where we took on fuel before we continued on to st. Halina [Music] this flight has a lot of quirks as a result of its remote destination and we'll talk about them throughout this video but suffice it to say this flight should be on every aviation enthusiasts bucket list when I made my trip on the 15th of February 20 20 before travel was restricted there were two flights per week this one from Johannesburg was on a Saturday and Tuesdays saw the island linked with Cape Town even though air link is a separate airline from South African Airways I had access to the sa a lounge because my flight was booked in business class this access ends in April 2020 when the two airlines completely part ways naturally the window drew me in the space was comfortable and most importantly given my current state see I didn't sleep much the night before because I was so excited about this flight the coffee flowed soon it was time to head to the gate now the route is served by a very capable aircraft the Embraer 190 only a handful of pilots less than 10 in fact are certified to make this flight because of the unusual characteristics of st. Helena's Airport as our designated boarding time approached I headed to the top of this massive escalator down to the bus cakes I've been here before and there's something just absolutely dramatic about this space knowing that my destination is somewhere remote and exciting it's really wonderful the last time I was down here I was on my way to Botswana aboard an Avro RJ 85 also with air Lake anyway the gate area here was bustling it's a lot like the islandhoppper in that people are recognizing each other they didn't know they were on the flight so just a real like party atmosphere with a lot of people getting ready for this flight to the st. Wayne even though I knew not a soul on board my own excitement was through the roof I am so excited about this trip can't wait to share with you soon we were getting on board a bus now this was one time when getting on early was not an advantage I stood in this spot right here for about an hour as we waited for lingering passengers and then slowly made our way across the ramp finally we arrived the aircraft only to have to wait even longer before finally being able to get off the bus one of the reasons for the lengthy process was because of a delicate dance that was taking place behind the scenes air links operation team the Meteorological Office in Saint Helena and our flight deck crew were communicating we would not be able to take off from Johannesburg until everyone that's dispatch the Airport Authority and our flight deck crew were all confident the weather was acceptable on the island this is because diversion options are extremely limited on this route boarding from the ramp via air stairs is always a highlight for me especially when the weather is this nice I made sure I was the last person to get on the airplane maximizing my time down here as I mentioned earlier the Embraer 190 is a very special aircraft with highly skilled pilots uniquely capable of handling this flight because landing on the island may mean touching down with a 15 knot tailwind it's very likely you'll go your entire life without landing with as much as a five knot tailwind Airlink has two aircraft in their fleet capable of making this flight they're fitted with special engines that deal with the hot and high performance it requires all their other and different engines will be pushing back shortly to potty front razor 3 that's an epoxy in a northeast iteration and then once we have order to be lifted to announcing let me try to show cruising altitude over 34,000 feets in the flight Uncle Bob is made between two hours in two minutes in the platform offers ray and juice intervene and three hours and eight minutes I'd like to punch announces something relax and enjoy us any part of us most of the time this flight does not go straight to st. Alena instead there's usually a technical stop in Namibia to take on additional fuel if the load is particularly light and the winds are just right that stops not necessary we'd have to make it today and before leaving Johannesburg our pilots dispatchers and st. Helena's meteorologists will once again ensure the weather was acceptable for us good news it was meanwhile on board I settled in for this two-hour flight the cabin is comfortable individual air vents are available at each seat along with reading lights legroom is excellent up here even when the seat pocket is full of camera gear but the best part naturally it's the views of the African countryside passing below [Music] the tray table is sturdy now I recommend bringing your own in-flight entertainment maybe a book or an iPad all passengers both in business and economy were offered a small snack on this leg I had the chicken which was really nice it hit the spot and was certainly better than the food in the lounge the landscape beneath us was practically otherworldly one of the toughest parts of my KLM flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town a couple of days before was missing the window views Africa is one of the most diverse and beautiful continents in a window over this part of the world is something for which to be incredibly grateful [Music] flight attendants passed out customs and immigration forms which we all promptly completed soon the seatbelt sign was back on and we began our approach into vulvas bay for our technical stop [Music] on the ground involve a spay we sat back and relaxed as ramp agents got to work they had to fuel our aircraft for the next leg three hours over the open ocean check for your own safety Kranti remain seated with your seat belts fastened thank you and the refueling procedure is vital we had to take on enough fuel to circle the airfield at st. Helena's for a while in case the winds were disagreeable or something was wrong with the runway if the weather was really squirrely our only option would be to divert to Ascension Island some 800 miles away from st. Aliyah put another way everyone had to be confident we'd be able to land when we arrived as we left Namibia flight attendants sprayed the cabin to kill any pests that may have gotten on board thankfully they didn't get this one though like many smaller airfields with all this Bay doesn't have a taxiway that runs the entire length of the runway as a result pilots execute a maneuver called a back taxi in which they use the runway to taxi along that also means the airplane does a complete 180 just before taking off a real treat for an aviation enthusiast soon we were on our way again the weather in st. Helena's was looking good and just after takeoff we left the African coast behind the next time we'd see land it would be the island of st. Helena lunch was soon served was occurring a pastry it was flavorful and despite being cold was a perfect treat for this phase of flight and as I finished my lunch and dreamed of what was waiting for me on the island the airport was coming to life ramp workers busily get equipment and vehicles used only once or twice a week in place for our arrival fire engines are brought out of the garage and inside the tower things get even busier in the met officer Meteorological Office where the Royal meteorologist has been providing updated forecasts even more frequently as we approach the island and up top air traffic control is spinning into action - communicating with the crew of my plane as well as Luanda Centre the controlling authority over this part of the airspace the runway is checked for debris to ensure it's ready for our landing soon our pilots call the tower with vital information like the number of souls on board which is then communicated the Island Search and Rescue Service we begin our approach into one of the world's most challenging airports we about missile you Center for sense we know to be approachable time learning courses the air temperature at 32 degrees Celsius partly cloudy conditions and southeast he would like at 17:30 and you see at either end of the runway are massive glyphs which create challenging wind conditions everyone on the plane knows what's facing the flight deck crew and as we get closer a hush came over the cabin for once I wasn't the only one with my eyes glued to the window everyone was checking out this approach [Music] [Music] this is just another example of why I love aviation so very much a place previously so far removed from the world nearly a week away from anywhere is now reachable in a matter of hours there's no Jeb score for this flight because it's such a unique and special one instead this earns a special status alongside flights like the islandhoppper the world's shortest flight the world's longest one as an aviation enthusiasts must have experience here's hoping we're all flying soon so I can see you in the sky [Music] hello jet-setters I'm Jeb Brooks from greener grass calm thanks to a brand new airport that was just opened a couple of years ago but perhaps the reason you're interested in this video is not just about the island rather how I got here is it's a quite an adventure to get here you

Channel: Jeb Brooks

Views: 701,700

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Keywords: st helena airport, st helena airport landing, st helena airport documentary, st helena airport terminal, st helena airport approach, airlink st helena, airlink, st helena, saint helena, travelling to st helena, saint helena airport, saint helena airport landing, saint helena airport documentary, saint helena airport terminal, saint helena airport approach, airlink saint helena

Id: 8EaGRUdhZuY

Length: 13min 27sec (807 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 04 2020