. >> reporter: governor lisa honan is the queen's representative in st. a british island over 4,500 miles south of great britain. commercial flights started arriving in october. before that, the only way in or out was on a boat. the royal male ship, the rms st. helena, sailed its final voyage earlier this year. >> there wasn't a dry eye in the island when the ship salils. people were crying, waving. >> reporter: now it's up to a controversial $400 million airport to serve as the life line for the 4,000 people who live here. >> well, the locals call ourselves saints. >> that's not a bad path to sainthood. >> i'm glad i'm a saint. >> by birth you're a saint. >> reporter: gisele was born here and is the owner of a small shop selling handmade jewelry as unique as the saints themselves. >> you look at five different saint helens. we look completely different. we ha >> reporter: originally discovered by the portuguese, st. helena received its first british settlers in 1659, when the east india company took possession. it became a vital, heavily fort fied tradin