Weekly flights to St Helena, off the coast of West Africa, could be cancelled because the RAF is refusing to allow emergency backup landings on nearby Ascension Island. The RAF base on Ascension Island, which is 700 miles from St Helena, is supposed to act as a diversionary airport for planes unable to land on the British colony in bad weather. But an investigation by the UK air safety regulator found that the RAF had banned Airlink, the company operating the St Helena flights, from landing when the weather was bad. An aircraft lands in St Helena. St Helena residents estimate that one in four flights struggle to land during bad winter weather.