It’s the runway that disappears.
And you’ll find it – if the timing is right – at the airport on the remote Outer Hebrides island of Barra, 40 miles off the coast of western Scotland.
Nicky Kelvin, Editor at Large at The Points Guy, investigates what must be the most unusual airport in the world in a fascinating video for a series he presents called Airplane Mode.
The travel expert explains that the disappearing act occurs because the runway is also a public beach, with the sand lost to the incoming tide twice a day.
Nicky’s video begins at Glasgow Airport, where he interviews two pilots for the airline that operates services in and out of Barra Airport from Glasgow twice a day – Loganair.
Nicky Kelvin, Editor at Large at The Points Guy, investigates what must be the most unusual airport in the world on the island of Barra (above). Here, the runway is also a public beach
Captain Laura Roper explains that there are ‘no lights or guidance’ for landing.
‘It’s all done by our own judgement,’ she says.
One bonus, though, is that the sand ‘cushions the landing a little bit’.
The interview wrapped, Captain Roper and First Officer Steven Cameron take the controls of their Twin Otter turboprop and Nicky jumps aboard for his first-ever flight to Barra.
He’s bowled over.
The sand on Barra Airport beach is lost to the tide twice a day
Nicky’s video begins at Glasgow Airport, where he interviews two pilots for the airline that operates services in and out of Barra Airport from Glasgow twice a day – Loganair
He told MailOnline Travel: ‘It has been a lifelong dream of mine as a diehard aviation geek to travel to the incredibly unique airport of Barra.
‘It’s the only commercial airport in the world with a beach as a runway, and provides for a very dramatic setting, not only because you are landing on the sand, but also because the runway disappears twice a day with the tide.
‘The timings of the flights need to be well planned in order to make sure there is enough space on the beach for the plane to land and take off again.’
Nicky (above) told MailOnline Travel: ‘It has been a lifelong dream of mine as a diehard aviation geek to travel to the incredibly unique airport of Barra’
Barra Airport is located 40 miles off the coast of western Scotland
Loganair flies turboprop Twin Otter aircraft to Barra Airport
A still from Nicky’s video showing a Loganair flight coming in to land at Barra
Captain Laura Roper (left) explains that there are ‘no lights or guidance’ for landing
The flight to Barra is spectacular, with Nicky revealing that the plane flies over ‘blue seas and white sands that could be mistaken for the Caribbean’
He added: ‘It’s not just the concept that is dramatic and exciting, the actual landing is as amazing as you might imagine.
‘You come in low over some of Scotland’s most stunning islands, with blue seas and white sands that could be mistaken for the Caribbean.
‘In fact, Barra is known to some people as Barrabados.’
Once at the airport, Nicky meets Barra Airport’s crew manager, Steve Wilson, who takes Nicky out on a beach/runway safety check to make sure the area is free of debris that may have washed up with the tide and reveals that the airport must also make sure there are no runway incursions from cockle pickers.
Nicky meets Barra Airport’s crew manager, Steve Wilson, who takes Nicky out on a beach/runway safety check to make sure the area is free of debris that may have washed up with the tide
Nicky added: ‘It was an honour to go behind the scenes at Barra airport and live out my dream by landing, taking off and exploring all the aspects of the operation within the airport.
‘One of the most fascinating things is that many of the staff there have multiple roles, and so the same person that might be checking you in at the checking desk is also a firefighter, an air traffic controller and a baggage handler.’
To see the full video click here. For more from The Points Guy visit thepointsguy.com/uk-travel.
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I landed on a beach! Travel expert investigates the remote airport runway in Scotland that DISAPPEARS twice a day with the tide
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