Barra Airport among the world’s most scenic airports

By Reporter

March 23 2019, 7:40 am

With its spectacular beach landing, it is a bucket list flight for thousands of passengers every year.

And now Barra Airport in the Outer Hebrides has been named as among the world’s most scenic airports.

Barra came second on the list of ten, topped by Donegal Airport in Ireland with Nice Cote d’Azur in France, third, in a poll by private jet company PrivateFly. Barra won the award in 2012.

American broadcaster CNN also highlighted Barra on the list, saying: ”The view on the approach to Scotland’s Barra Airport, which offers stunning coastal views, just missed out on the number one spot, coming in second place.”

A panel of travel experts and aviation fans participated in the annual poll, which featured 129 different airports around the world and received over 7,000 votes.

Of Barra, PrivateFly said voters had praised “the quirky nature, the magnificent views coming in and going out and onto a sandy beach. It is a joyous experience from start to finish. Just wonderful.”

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“I just love the remoteness of the Isle of Barra and its rugged terrain. Landing on a cockle shell beach is quite the experience too. Make sure the tide is out!” said other flyers.

While another added: “The approach to Barra airport is awesome – superb views over to Skye and the small isles then seeing the causeway between Eriskay and South Uist coming in over the sand dunes to land on the beach at Barra is a totally unique experience – nothing beats it…every time.”

Last year, Barra was also voted among the scariest airports by top travel guide Wanderlust.

Wanderlust said: ”Situated in a wide shallow bay on the northern tip of the island of Barra in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the ‘airport’ at Eoligarry is the only one in the world where scheduled flights land on a beach. It has three runways, set in a triangle and marked by wooden poles, that can only be used at low tide. At high tide, the runways disappear, covered by sea water. Flight times, unsurprisingly, vary with the tides.”

Barra – which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2016 – is believed to be the only airport in the UK that officially has three designated runways, but only when uncovered by the sea.