AUGUST 7, 1936
The first scheduled daily flight to Barra touched down on the island’s beach, soon sparking the imagination of travellers around the world desperate to experience the novelty.
The Northern & Scottish Airways service, based out of Renfrew, had been struggling to find a suitable landing strip on the Outer Hebridean island until the local postmaster, John
MacPherson, suggested the beach be used, and so the sandy runway took its place in the history books. It is the only destination in the world scheduled for flights where the runway is on a tidal beach.
The bay of Traigh Mhor (Big Beach) is in the north of the island, and the runways are marked by wooden posts which are swallowed by the sea when the tide comes in. The service was an immediate success, having been well advertised in advance.
A single ticket from Renfrew Airport for the winter season of 1936/37 was £4, while a 90-day return ticket was £7 17s 6d.
Flight times vary due to the tides, of course, while beach walkers and cockle pickers must also observe a windsock to check if the airport is currently in operation.
While it was 1936 that the Air Ministry granted it an official licence, Barra’s beach had seen an aeroplane land there a little over three years earlier, when Captain Jimmy Orrell landed at Traigh Mhor, as he surveyed for new landing positions on various islands for the air ambulance service.