The opening of an airport on the British overseas territory of St. Helena has been delayed indefinitely due to high winds.
A brand new airport on the British overseas territory of St. Helena, costing £250 million ($350m USD), has been delayed indefinitely due to high winds. The airport was planned to open in May, however the decision was made that the airport was too dangerous for commercial airliners to land on the cliff-top runway.
The development was aimed to help boost the tiny island in the South Atlantic – Britain’s most remote overseas territory. The island of St. Helena sits around 1,150 miles off the west coast of South Africa, and is home to around 4,000 people. It was one of the biggest single government investments ever made in a UK overseas territory.
Wind shear is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance which can destabilise large aircrafts and has been responsible for crashes around the world. The tragic Delta Air Lines Flight DL1921 crash of 1985, killing 136 on board, was attributed to microburst-induced wind shear.
Here is a video of a test flight having to take three attempts to land at St. Helena airport due to high winds:
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