Celebrations take off as island airport marks 40th birthday

Tingwall Airport on Shetland is celebrating its 40th birthday.

Today marks four decades since the first passenger aircraft landed on the runway.

At that time colour television was yet to arrive in the isles, but the oil industry had begun to make its impact on Shetland.

It was in the weeks after the opening of Tingwall Airport that BP submitted the blueprint for the Sullom Voe Terminal to Shetland Islands Council’s planning department.

Oil- related charter flights, for smaller aircraft at least, became a regular sight at Tingwall, which is also known as Lerwick Airport.

The first scheduled interisland flights from Ting wall were operated by Loganair, which also provided the air ambulance service in Shetland at that time.

Scheduled flights from Tingwall to Edinburgh using Twin Otter aircraft began in April 1979 and continued until the early 1990s.

Loganair continued to operate from Tingwall for almost 30years until Direct Flight Ltd was awarded the contract to provide scheduled services in 2006.

Tingwall continues to serve island communities today with regular flights to Fair Isle, Papa Stour and Foula, as well as providing 24-hour availability for air ambulance flights and Shetland Coastguard’s search and rescue helicopter.

Around 400 passengers pass through the airport in an average month, most on board the passenger flights operated by AirTask Group on behalf of the council.

Councillor Michael Stout, chairman of the council’s environment and transport committee and Shetland’s transport partnership ZetTrans, said: “Having lived in Fair Isle, I know how important the flights are for the communities living in Shetland’s outer isles.

“The service has come to mean much more than simply a way for folk to get in and out.”

“I know how important the flights are for communities”

IMPACT: The oil industry has made its presence felt on the island