Since April 1, travellers have had a new air connection between the island of Helgoland and the mainland of Germany, announced the East Frisian airline Ostfriesische Flug-Dienst (OFD). Flights between the North Sea island and Uetersen, near the northern city of Hamburg, take off twice a day, from Wednesday to Sunday. The journey, which takes about 50 minutes, costs 169 euros ($187) per section. Flights are scheduled until the end of September. OFD already has two other flights to Helgoland, Germany's only offshore island. One departs from Nordholz/Spieka, near the town of Cuxhaven, located at the mouth of the Elbe River in the North Sea, and the other from Heide/Büsum, in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. To the island, by boat from Norddeich and Büsum In addition, from 2 May there will be a new ferry connection to Helgoland. The “Adler Jet” catamaran of the Norden-Friesland shipping company will sail from Norddeich in East Frisia via Norderney to Helgoland and back from Saturday to Wednesday. The journey will take about two and a half hours. Already on April 14, the catamaran “Nordlicht” will depart from Büsum, on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, towards Helgoland for the first time. Depending on the season, there will be two to four trips per week, according to the shipping companies Cassen Eils and Adler-Schiffe. The journey takes approximately one hour and 45 minutes. The catamaran “Nordlicht II”, which has just entered service, will also operate on this route and between Cuxhaven and Helgoland. From there, the journey takes 75 minutes. The catamaran “Halunder Jet”, of the FRS Helgoline shipping company, which sails from Hamburg, has already started the season and reaches the German offshore island with a stopover in Cuxhaven in about three and a half hours. dpa