Special crowd control measures were in place on the remote island of St. Helena on Tuesday - for the arrival of a twin-engined light aircraft. It was the first time in the history of this remote Atlantic Ocean island that a fixed-wing aircraft landed there.
"Crowd control" is a relative term, on an island with less than 5,000 inhabitants. The 2008 cencus - the latest available - listed the island's population at 4,255. Detailed measures from where the public could witness the arrival of the Beechcraft King Air were published ahead of Tuesday's historic event. The airport's construction site was out of bounds to the general population, but access to several public viewing points were arranged and broadcast on the local radio station. Some of these were only accessible on foot.
Construction work on the British island's first ever airport was well underway after a process which commenced with a public consultation process more than a decade ago. The St. Helena Airport Project said it was expected that the first commercial flight to and from the new airport would be in February next year, while the official opening was scheduled for the 21st of May 2016.
St. Helena Airport would be able to accommodate aircraft such as the Boeing 737-700 or Airbus 319. It would also be able to accommodate the Boeing 737-800 or Airbus A320, subject to weight restrictions. It would further be able to accommodate some larger aircraft, known in aviation speak as Code D, such as the Boeing 757-200. These would be subject to weight restrictions. The tarred runway length was 1,950 metres.
Tuesday's arrival of the Beechcraft King Air was for a series of calibration flights for the airport's electronic gadgets to assist pilots with instrument landings in bad weather, or during the hours of darkness. The aircraft landed just before 4PM SA time, or 2PM St. Helena time. Stepping out of the aircraft, Captain Grant Brighton said, "It feels fantastic and we're privileged to have flown the first plane to land on St Helena." He added that the trip fro Johannesburg via Ondangwa in Namibia and Namibe on the Angolan coast was "good". Brighton said it was interesting landing at the airport, describing conditions as "a bit windy on the threshold but a terrific runway, surface, Airport and facility."
After watching the landing with numerous residents at the various vantage points, local councillor Lawson Henry said, "first of all this is quite emotional - we've waited so long for this moment and it has finally happened. This is history in the making and we're a part of it."
