Airport History

There are few places in the world where you can take a scheduled flight and land on a beach, but passengers travelling to the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides do just that.

The runway which is situated on the tidal beach of Traigh Mhòr (Gaelic for Big Beach) at the northern tip of the island, is world famous for being unique as the only one in the world where scheduled flights land and take off each day at times determined by the tides of the Atlantic Ocean.

To accommodate the coastal location, three runways are set out in a triangle, marked by posts at each end so that aircraft have options to land into the ever-changing wind direction. The runways disappear under the waves when the tide is in.

Outside of the aircraft landings, local people and the approximately 219,000 visitors that the island receives each year regularly use the beach for swimming and walking. The beach is also popular with cocklers who can also use the beach to forage when the large orange windsock is down – as long as they don’t dig holes in the runways.

The first flight to touch down at Barra was on 14 June 1933 when pilot Captain Jimmy Orrell visited in a Midland & Scottish Air Ferries Dehavilland Dragon. The first official scheduled flight took place on 7 August 1936 and a single ticket to Renfrew Airport, near Glasgow for the 1936/37 winter service cost £4 (the equivalent of £384 in today’s money).

In the 1970’s passenger numbers reached 7,500 annually and the latest figures for 2024/25 were just under 11,300 per year, after a peak of approximately 15,000 just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Daily scheduled services to Glasgow run all year round, operated by Loganair, using Twin Otter aircraft. Emergency and lifeline services for the local island community are also supported by the Airport Fire Service and the airport is owned and operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL).  

Each member of the team cover duties ranging from firefighting provision to customer service to wildlife management and marshalling to baggage handling and much more. Members of the team also support fire crews on the island with emergencies as needed.

In 2022, HIAL started a phased project of investment worth approximately £1.5 million to refurbish the terminal including the installation of a new café and seating area overlooking the beach, a new terrace on the beach side of the terminal to make the most of the stunning views, upgrading of the fixtures and fittings and landscaping around the building to improve accessibility.

In December 2024, Seonaidh Morrison took over as the operator of the new café at Barra Airport, with a changing menu of snacks, drinks and meals attracting locals and travellers alike. A native to the island, the chef was recognised a year later, with the Morning Live Best Street Food, Takeaway or Small Eatery in the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2025.