Last June we posted about the new airport on St. Helena. The airport was meant to allow commercial airlines to land on St. Helena, bringing tourists and commerce to the beautiful but rocky and remote island in the South Atlantic. The British government spent £285m to build the airport, which was supposed to open in May of this year.  There was and is only one problem. The runway is too windy for commercial airliners to land. Specifically, there is too much wind shear on the northerly approach.

Now, the island’s residents are threatening to sue the government of Great Britain for compensation related to the so-far unusable airport. St Helena is a British Overseas Territory.

Previously, the primary means of travel to and from the island was by the RMS St Helena, which was to be retired last June, but is now slated to continue operating between Cape Town, St Helena and Ascension Island until July, 2017.

As reported by the Guardian:  Although plans for an airport have been circulating in Whitehall for over a decade, DfID was warned of the risk of high winds in a Met Office report commissioned in October 2014 and completed in January 2015. The report, sent to the St Helena government, warned of alarming wind speeds, but the site for the airport had been chosen three years before that report.

What is the government doing to address the problem. According to the St. Helena Airport Project website, they are studying the matter, collecting data, and holding meetings. From the website:

ST HELENA AIRPORT – UPDATE ON ACTIONS

Work continues to mitigate the challenges of wind shear at St Helena Airport. Safety remains paramount.

The Governor continues to chair weekly meetings of her senior technical and planning staff in order to understand the issues, make decisions, ensure the public are properly informed in a timely manner, and push forward all areas of work. These meetings began as soon as the issue of wind shear became apparent, and they continue. Councillors are represented at these meetings.

In terms of the northern and southern approach (Runways 20 and 02 respectively) we now have more than five months of weather data, plus reports of the experience of each of the nine flights that have so far operated various approaches into the Airport. Another aircraft is due to arrive tomorrow.