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Due to flight operations on Tuesday, 24 February and Wednesday, 25 February 2026, the HM Customs and Immigration Office at Liberation House, Ruperts, advises the public of the following service changes:

Normal operations for both departments will resume on Thursday, 26 February 2026.

SHG

23 February 2026

A meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will take place on Thursday 5 March 2026 from 13:00 to 14:30. This meeting will be held at the conference room in Customs House, Jamestown.

The agenda will include a Police and Crime Panel report from the Temporary Director of Police and a question and answer (QA) section from the panel. A report summary will be made available to the public the day before the meeting via the SHG website at www.sainthelena.gov.sh/portfolios/safety-security-and-home-affairs/police-service/. In this meeting, the panel will also review its Terms of Reference.

The panel consists of the following members:

We welcome attendance and input from all community members and stakeholders as these reforms progress.

For more information, please contact the Temporary Director of Police, Kevin Weir, by telephone on (00290) 22626 or by email through kevin.weir@sainthelena.gov.sh.

You can also view the Police and Crime Plan online at www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/St-Helena-Police-Service-Police-and-Crime-Plan-v1.1.pdf.

The meeting will be live streamed via the SHG YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sthelenagovernment1638. A recording of the meeting will be uploaded following the meeting. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the recording of the previous meeting held in November 2025 was unable to be published, however previous panel meetings are available to view.

Following each meeting printed versions of the Police and Crime Panel report will also be made available at the Customer Service Centre and Public Library. Previous reports are now available to view at these locations.

#StHelena #RSHP #PoliceandCrimePanel

www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt

The Marine Centre Building at the Jamestown Wharf is temporarily closed while building works are carried out. The Marine and Fisheries Conservation Section Team has relocated to the Marine Enforcement Office and can still be reached on telephone numbers 25966 and 25947.

The public are thanked for their understanding and cooperation during this time.

SHG

19 February 2026

Following the successful repatriation of all passengers affected by the recent airport closure, we are pleased to announce that Airlink have reopened bookings via their website. As all previously affected travellers have now been accommodated, we have limited spare seats available for the upcoming flight on Saturday, 21 February.

Please contact your normal travel provider if you wish to purchase a ticket.

Nominations are now being invited for the following awards:

UK STATE AWARDS – 2027 NEW YEAR HONOURS 

Honours are awarded on merit for exceptional achievement or for any service carried out over and above what normally is expected. This can include making a difference to the community or in a specific field of work, innovation and entrepreneurship, improving life for people less able to help themselves and displaying moral courage. Where possible, nominations should place emphasis on voluntary services, and the service must be recent. Nominees must not be made aware they are being put forward for an award.

To find out more about the different types of Honours Awards please visit: www.gov.uk/honours

CERTIFICATE AND BADGE OF HONOUR 2027

This award is presented to public servants on behalf of St Helena Government for loyal and valuable service worthy of recognition or, in the case of other persons, for their loyal and meritorious conduct that has provided exceptional benefit to the people of St Helena. Nominees should be residents of St Helena, either being born on the Island or have been residing on St Helena for not less than ten years prior to the date of the award. 

ACT OF BRAVERY AWARD 2027

This award is presented to individuals who have shown a clear display of moral courage and bravery in adverse situations.

THE BADGE OF ST HELENA

This award is available to both St Helenians and non-St Helenians. It is off a higher status than the Certificate and Badge of Honour. The Badge of St Helena recognises exceptional service provided by individuals or organisations who make significant contribution to St Helena’s development or by supporting and/or enhancing social, cultural, economic, environmental improvement or the understanding of St Helena internationally. 

FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF JAMESTOWN

This award is symbolic in nature and is the highest-level of local government award that can be conferred. It is awarded to both St Helenians and non-St Helenians whose achievements are significantly admirable and highly worthy of distinctive recognition. Those who receive this award will have made an outstanding contribution that is of huge national impact to St Helena and its citizens and will have served the best interests of the Island. 

Nomination forms for all of the above awards, are available from Central Support Service at the Castle, Jamestown, or can be requested via email:  linda.benjamin@sainthelena.gov.sh.

Completed forms should be returned to the Castle in a sealed envelope marked ‘Confidential’ addressed to ‘The Secretary, Honours and Awards Committee’, by Monday, 27 April 2026.

SHG

18 February 2026

St Helena Government (SHG) is pleased to confirm that in close liaison with Airlink, an early flight window to Ascension Island has been agreed.  This arrangement will support those whose travel plans were disrupted by the recent closure, including passengers awaiting onward connections to the Falkland Islands via Ascension.

The flight scheduled for Tuesday, 24 February, will arrive and depart for Ascension Island on the same day. A return flight from Ascension will then arrive in St Helena on 25 February, before departing onward to Johannesburg.

Passengers affected by changes to the outbound flight will be contacted directly by Solomons. 

We remain grateful to the public for their support and resilience.

Following the restoration of Category 6 status at Saint Helena Airport on Sunday, we are pleased to confirm that the first scheduled Airlink flight visited St Helena Island today.

We were able to bring back all our delayed residents who wished to travel, as well as supporting around half of the waiting tourists to leave the island on the return flight. An urgent medical patient was also conveyed, saving the need for a dedicated medevac flight.

We anticipate that the backlog of tourists waiting to leave the island will be fully addressed with Saturday’s Airlink flight.

Bookings for future flights to and from St Helena are now open again. Please contact Airlink, Solomons or your usual travel provider if you need to book a new or replacement flight.

We are working closely with Airlink and the Ascension Island Government (AIG) to find an early flight window to Ascension Island. Due to the unique nature of St Helena’s airport, only certain pilots and crew have approved flight status, which means managing their regulated flying hours can be challenging, especially at short notice. We will continue to keep the public updated.

Today’s flight also delivered additional spare parts to support the repairs to fire tender R2, which we hope to have fully operational later this week to add resilience to our airport fleet. In the meantime, we remain grateful to St Helena Fire and Rescue Service for their continued support.

After today, we will no longer issue daily updates, but we will continue to communicate key messages as and when necessary. The Gold Command team will continue meeting regularly to consider the long-term recovery strategy for the island and to ensure that any necessary learning takes place to avoid repetition of this incident.

We remain grateful to the public for their support and resilience.

Updated Q&A

The latest version of the Q&A document can be accessed here.

The public are advised that the scheduled closures of Longwood Road and Upper Side Path will not take place today, 17 February 2026, due to current inclement weather conditions.

Weather permitting, the closure of the stretch between Longwood Gate and Hutts Gate  will now proceed tomorrow, Wednesday, 18 February 2026.

The closure between the Briars, Side Path, Constitution Road junction and Button-up Corner (Heart-Shaped Viewpoint bus shelter)  has been rescheduled for Thursday, 19  February 2026. This adjustment will allow residents of Alarm Forest, Levelwood, and Longwood districts to collect any cargo using the normal route.

SHG

17 February 2026

Following yesterday’s announcement that Airlink flights to St Helena are scheduled to resume on Tuesday, 17 February, HE the Governor and the Chief Minister delivered a joint radio address to the public.

This was broadcast on SAMS Radio 1 and Saint FM and is available on Spotify:

SAMS Radio 1 – https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zigfXg0n0senZ7JIHDvkX?si=Zm97n4jBTx2l18aTmsx8xw

Saint FM – https://open.spotify.com/episode/3XCPPyVYHnTVsoTpVycL1w

For those unable to listen to the broadcast, the transcript appears below:

[Governor]

After a challenging week, the Chief Minister and I would like to update you on the restoration of air operations

Our airport mechanics, supported by two specialist engineers from fire appliance manufacturer Marcé, have worked incredibly hard, operating in shifts, to complete the repairs to appliance R1.

We are extremely grateful to them for their efforts and to St Helena Fire and Rescue Service, whose support is instrumental in regaining Category 6 status.

I am delighted that this has now been restored and, subject to the weather, scheduled flights will begin again tomorrow, 17 February.

Repairs will continue to make R2 operational and R3 will undergo further work to improve its current capabilities.

The Airport team, with support from the Governor’s Office and the FCDO, have been investigating options to provide a long-term replacement for the existing airport fire tenders R1 and R2. The team have been working at pace to source replacements that will meet the stringent requirements for airport firefighting and be suitable for long term use in the challenging environmental conditions experienced here on St Helena. They have been engaging with other airports to ensure what we buy will not only be compliant but will work well in our remote context. 

We still have work to do, but once operations are fully back to normal, we will make good on the need to investigate the circumstances leading up to the airport closure. We will do so independently and transparently. The airline industry remains one of the safest on the planet and we will continue to follow their best practices to ensure that it remains so.

Chief Minister…

[Chief Minister]

Thank you, Governor.

Sunday’s announcement will have come as a huge relief to everyone.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the whole community of St Helena and those passengers awaiting travel here and overseas for your patience and understanding. The last 10 days has been challenging but you have shown just how our community spirit, strength and resilience has helped to get through it.

Thanks to the incredible hard work of so many, and over the weekend the long hours put in by the mechanics at the airport, supported by specialist engineers from Marcé and to the Fire and Rescue Service. We can now get people to where they need to be.

Residents overseas and visitors currently stranded have been supported throughout this period by many individuals both here and overseas and in particular I would like to acknowledge the Solomons Shipping and Travel team led by Kerry; The Tourist Office team led by Jono; the Health team for helping our visitors to access healthcare and chronic health medication, our tour operators, hoteliers and businesses who have all stepped up to support our visitors during this challenging time. To everyone, your professionalism and generosity has been overwhelming and helped to limit the impact on St Helena’s reputation. Your actions and response continue to demonstrate why St Helena remains resilience and a unique destination for visitors.

Our focus now needs to be on recovery. I want to reassure our business community that the Government acknowledges the challenges you have faced. Colleagues in SHG are already talking to businesses to understand the scale of both the short and long term implications the closure may have had. Over the coming weeks we will consider what support we are able to offer to those who have been affected. 

As the Governor has said we are also exploring options to build resilience at the Airport with the prospect of new Fire Tenders being funded shortly. Thanks to the support of the FCDO and the Governor’s Office.  

May I reiterate my thanks to all of those who have been instrumental in returning travel to and from our island back to normality.

[Governor]

In closing. It will remain busy but we are making good progress.

On behalf of the Chief Minister and myself, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the professionalism displayed in overcoming this major incident.

Thank you.

Statement by Chair of the Board of St Helena Airport Ltd

In addition to the radio broadcast, the Chair of the Board of St Helena Airport Ltd made the following written statement:

“On behalf of the St Helena Airport Limited (SHAL) Board, our management team, our staff, and on my own behalf, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all parties who have worked tirelessly to restore airport operations and enable the safe resumption of scheduled flights from 17 February 2026.

We recognise the significant disruption the events of recent days have caused for our community, visitors, airline partners, and businesses. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we prioritised safety and worked methodically with our partners to return to normal operations. Safety remains our foremost priority. The decision to resume flights follows the completion of the necessary checks and readiness actions to ensure we are operating in full compliance with applicable requirements.

Looking ahead, we are working closely with the St Helena Government (SHG) and partners to strengthen the airport’s long-term resilience. This includes exploring replacement options for firefighting appliances and undertaking a comprehensive review on what are the factors that have led us to this situation.

We are grateful to SHG colleagues, emergency services, suppliers, and our dedicated SHAL team for their sustained efforts throughout this period.”

#StHelena #AirAccess

www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

The public are advised that the scheduled closures of Longwood Road and Side Path Road will not take place today, 16 February 2026, due to current inclement weather conditions.

Weather permitting, the closure of the stretch between Longwood Gate and Hutts Gate  will now proceed tomorrow, Tuesday, 17 February 2026.

The closure between the Briars, Side Path, Constitution Road junction and Button-up Corner (Heart-Shaped Viewpoint bus shelter)  has been rescheduled for Wednesday, 18 February 2026. This adjustment will allow residents of Alarm Forest, Levelwood, and Longwood districts to collect any cargo using the normal route.

SHG

16 February 2026