Flying from St Helena to Cape Town

This trip to the St. Helena Airport took place 15 February 2020, before the major current travel restrictions. This is not a time to travel, but instead...please Stay Home! Stick around to the end of the video for some of my thoughts about the state of travel today.

In this video, I'll share a bit from "behind the scenes" at the St. Helena airport as well as some scenes from the flight back to Cape Town with Airlink. But the real star of the show on the flight from St Helena to Cape Town was the approach at sunset past Table Mountain. It was truly jaw-dropping.

Watching this approach into Cape Town from St. Helena – undoubtedly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen from the air – was an opportunity to pause and reflect.

I have always taken great comfort – even assigned some of my own identity to the fact that, thanks to commercial aviation, I can get anywhere, anytime, in unbelievable comfort. Producing these videos about St. Helena has been a cathartic process for me. A reminder of what was possible not too long ago.

Of course, travel like this is not possible now. We’re each doing our part, staying home, washing our hands, maintaining social distance. These things are hard, we all know that. We miss being in the sky. We miss what aviation provides – that’s connection. And, stunning views like this. Views, I’m sorry to say, I didn’t fully appreciate before this crisis occurred.

Aviation brings the world together. A place like St. Helena – previously weeks away – becomes only a matter of hours from anywhere else on the planet. But, now we’re more apart than we’ve ever been.

We’re separated from our family, our friends, and the rest of the world. I hope we use this time to celebrate the small moments and to feel gratitude for what we can enjoy.

I feel for everyone who works in travel or people who travel for work. Your world has been rocked. These are strange times. But we know this: We know travel will return. Yes! It will be different, but it will return. Will travel be what it once was? Will the glamor be gone? I don’t know.

But I am sure of this: It will come back. Humans are explorers. We yearn to see the world, to seek new experiences, to make strangers our friends, to see new places. Commercial aviation will make this possible again.

I look forward to getting back in the air, to connecting with the world, as soon as it’s possible to do so. In the meantime, I’ll continue posting on this channel with the goal of bringing a little joy to you, along with a reminder of what was, and maybe a prediction or two about what will be.

Here's Wendover Productions' Documentary about the Airport:
   • The World's Most Useful Airport [Docu...  

Here’s a link to the unedited take-off and landing footage:
   • Airlink E190 St Helena Full Takeoff a...  

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Music:
Ursol - Valante