Transportation - note In 30 editions of 36.

• the new airport on Saint Helena opened for limited operations in July 2016, and the first commercial flight took place on 14 October 2017, marking the start of weekly air service between Saint Helena and South Africa via Namibia;
• the military airport on Ascension Island is closed to civilian traffic;
• there is no air connection to Tristan da Cunha and very limited sea connections making it one of the most isolated communities on the planet

• US coastal stations include McMurdo (77 51 S, 166 40 E) and Palmer (64 43 S, 64 03 W);
• government use only;
• all ships are subject to inspection in accordance with Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty;
• ships must comply with relevant legal instruments and authorization procedures under the Antarctic Treaty (see "Legal System");
• The Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica (HCA), a commission of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), coordinates and facilitates provision of accurate and appropriate charts and other aids to navigation;
• membership in HCA is open to any IHO Member State whose government has acceded to the Antarctic Treaty and which contributes resources or data to IHO Chart coverage of the area

seven of the world’s ten largest container ports are in China

• Russia operates the largest polar-class icebreaker fleet in the world with 52 vessels, seven of which are the world's only nuclear-powered heavy icebreakers;
• the primary mission includes keeping open ports, terminals, and shipping lanes along the Northern Sea Route (see Arctic Ocean map), in the Baltic Sea, and in the Russian Far East, including the Sea of Okhotsk

nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located on Sint Maarten

nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located on Sint Maarten

• begun in 1988 and completed in 1994, the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed the Chunnel) is a 50.5-km (31.4-mi) rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover that runs from Folkestone, Kent, England to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais in northern France;
• it is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and mainland Europe

• begun in 1988 and completed in 1994, the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed the Chunnel) is a 50.5-km (31.4-mi) rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover that runs from Folkestone, Kent, England to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais in northern France;
• it is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and mainland Europe

there are no commercial or civilian flights to and from Wake Island, except in direct support of island missions; emergency landing is available

sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways

• Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways;
• significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US

Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal