On 22 July 2010, the British government agreed to help pay for the new airport using taxpayer money. In November 2011 a new deal between the British government and South African civil engineering company Basil Read was signed and the airport was scheduled to open in February 2016, with flights to and from South Africa and the UK. In March 2015 South African airline Comair became the preferred bidder to provide weekly air service between the island and Johannesburg, starting from 2016.