想不想去英屬圣赫勒拿島看看？你沒想過很正常。幾乎沒人考慮過。但現在可以考慮了。

這座與世隔絕的島上有座圣赫勒拿機場，以“全球最無用機場”著稱。不過，據路透社報道，當地政府最近迎來首個商務航班。

圣赫勒拿位于非洲國家安哥拉西部，相距約1931公里，跟哪都不接壤，飄浮巴西和非洲海岸線之間的大西洋上，人口4500人。圣赫勒拿最有名的一點就是，法國政治家、軍事家拿破侖一世在島上去世。

雖然自上世紀30年代以來就一直在討論修機場，但碰到了一系列困難，當地的巖石地貌就有問題，對環境造成的影響可能威脅到某些物種生存。選定機場地點以后，修建工程又嚴重超支，最終成本高達2.85億英鎊。

路透社報道指出，去年機場終于竣工后，開幕典禮還因出現安全隱患而推遲舉行。也是從那時開始，外界常用“全球最無用機場”代稱圣赫勒拿機場。

現在，問題基本都已解決（因擔心風切變影響安全，飛機大小受到限制）。今年10月14日，首架載有68名乘客的航班在圣赫勒拿島安全著陸。圣赫勒拿政府希望，順利首航之后能提高該島對游客的吸引力。

圣赫勒拿總督麗莎·菲利普斯表示：“我看到一些媒體報道拿全球最無用機場做文章，可對圣赫勒拿人來說，這就是最有用的機場，是無價之寶。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

Ever wanted to visit the British island of St. Helena? Of course you haven’t. Virtually no one does. But now you can.

Reuters reports that officials on the isolated isle have welcomed the first commercial flight to St. Helena Airport, a hub that’s better known by its nickname “the world’s most useless airport.”

St. Helena, located 1,200 miles west of the African nation of Angola, is literally in the middle of nowhere, floating in the Atlantic ocean between Brazil and the African coastline. It has a population of 4,500 people and is best known as the place where Napoleon Bonaparte died.

While there has been talk of building an airport on the island since the 1930s, those plans hit a series of roadblocks, from issues with the rocky terrain to the environmental impact on endangered species. Even when a suitable spot was found, cost overruns resulted in a ￡285 million tab for the facility.

And when the airport was finished last year, notes Reuters, the opening was delayed due to safety fears. That’s about the time the nickname began being commonly used.

The issues have been largely resolved now (flight sizes are restricted due to wind-sheer concerns) and on Saturday, the first flight, with 68 people aboard, landed safely. Locals are hoping that makes the island a more appealing spot for tourists.

“I’ve seen the headlines about the world’s most useless airport, but for St. Helenans this has already been the most useful airport,” said Governor Lisa Phillips. “It’s priceless.”