Barra Airport

Here’s an unusual attraction in the Outer Hebrides!

Barra Airport is unlike any other airport, while Traigh Mhòr is unlike any other beach, because…

The beach is the runway!

That’s right - Barra has the only airport in the world where scheduled flights use a tidal beach as the runway. At low tide, planes take off and land on Traigh Mhòr, a vast beach on the northern tip of the island (the name fittingly translates into “Big Beach”). At high tide, the runways are completely underwater.

This unique small airport has been operating since 1936. Aside from the occasional private flight, there are only two scheduled flights a day, both with Logan Air, both connecting to Glasgow. When the wind sockets are flying, the airport is active - the beach is lined with red signs to remind visitors of this very fact. Outside of those times, Traigh Mhòr is just like any other beach, a place for locals and visitors to gather and get away from it all.

Flights

Because the flights are dependent on tide times, the flying times are not fixed and differ from one day to the next. There are two return flights daily operating between Glasgow and Barra. Usually, one is in the late morning, and the other in the early afternoon. The flight time is 1h15min. You can check the schedule at the time on the airport’s website here. For advance bookings, head to Logan Air’s page here.

It appears that the 2021 flights are all priced at £80 one-way, with only Fly Flex+ tickets available. I imagine that during normal times, the cheapest fares should be somewhere around £50 - just my guess. On a normal day, the plane can accommodate around 15 passengers - this number is lower at the moment for social distancing considerations.

Getting to Barra

There are two ways you could reach Barra. The quick and fun option: you could fly in, and many chose to do this simply for the experience of landing on the beach - that’s some proper Scottish bucket-list material! The slow but practical option: you could take the ferry from Oban on the mainland or the neighbouring island of Eriskay in South Uist. If you plan to see more of the Outer Hebrides, and have your own car, this second option probably makes more sense. Even if you are renting, you may find your car rental options are more limited on the islands, compared to the big cities. However, you can still head to the airport to watch the plane land on the beach. This won’t be as exciting, but it’s the second best thing. I found that the landing is more interesting than the take-off.

Other Airports in the Outer Hebrides

There are three airports in Outer Hebrides: Stornoway (on Isle of Lewis), Benbecula (on Isle of Benbecula) and Barra (on Isle of Barra). They are all connected to Glasgow, but Stornoway also connects to Edinburgh and Inverness.

More beaches

Walk 300m west from the airport along a path and across some grassy sand dunes and you will arrive at Traigh Eais, a beautiful mile-long beach.

Head a little further past the airport towards Eoligarry. There is a really, really nice stretch of sand just past the village - and I’m not even sure what it’s called! There aren’t any markers on Google Maps, and even my online digging hasn’t been very conclusive (I came across multiple names, such as Tràigh Sgùrabhal or Tràigh Cille-bharra). Either way, it’s truly a hidden gem!