In response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the preventative measures that all residents and visitors on St Helena are asked to take, the public is asked to consider whether it is necessary for them to come to the airport on flight days.

Measures to prevent the spread of diseases include limiting exposure by avoiding crowds and close proximity to one another.  As such, visitors to the airport are asked to be mindful of preventative measures that would assist the Island in limiting the inadvertent spread of disease.

As such, those coming to the airport to collect someone arriving by air are asked to consider waiting outside the Terminal Building or perhaps in their vehicle rather than go into the airport building.  Likewise, those assisting travellers who are leaving St Helena by air are also asked to consider just dropping them off at the airport rather than entering the building.

These measures will help reduce the spread of the flu which is currently being experienced on Island, and will help reduce the chances of COVID-19 spreading throughout the population if it should come to the Island.

By making this a habit now, it will better prepare the Island and its residents for the arrival of COVID-19 should this occur.  As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”.