given. The following December, DfID announced they and the "Treasury are in continuing discussions about issues of concern regarding access to St Helena. As a result, there will be a pause in negotiations over the St Helena airport contract". This was widely interpreted as meaning the project was in abeyance, probably for a number of years until the UK's economy recovers. In March 2009, DfID announced the launch of a new consultation on options for access to the island. In a parliamentary debate in which DfID were accused of delaying tactics, the ministry accepted the conclusion in their 2005 Access document but argued good fiscal management required this to be re-reviewed. In December 2008, the British Government decided not to go ahead at that time with the long-promised airport. When the airport eventually opens, the Royal Mail ship will cease operations soon after flights begin. Saint Helena Airport was finally completed on Prosperous Bay Plain in 2016, but its opening was delayed by concerns regarding wind shear. The first scheduled commercial airline flight landed on 14 October 2017. A census held in February 2008 showed the population (including the RMS) had fallen to 4,255. In the first half of 2008, areas of the cliff above the wharf were stabilised from rock falls with netting at a cost of approximately £3 million. On 14 August, about 200 tons of rock fell from the west side of Jamestown severely damaging the Baptist chapel and surrounding buildings. Plans are in hand to net the most dangerous sections of the mountains either side of Jamestown over the period to 2015 at an estimated cost of about £15 million. A comparative review of the different sources for the history of St Helena has been published on the St Helena Institute web site. Until 2017, travel to the island required a long trip by boat. An airport was constructed and the first flight arrived in October 2017. Because of "dangerous wind conditions" that made landing large aircraft unsafe, only smaller aircraft are used for the five hour trip from South Africa. Passenger service on the Royal Mail ship was discontinued in 2018. The travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a very negative effect on tourism in 2020 and extending into 2021. One news report in August 2020 stated that the costs imposed by the pandemic led to the "collapse of the island’s tourism