Campbeltown Airport

Campbeltown Airport (Scottish Gaelic: Port-adhair Cheann Loch Chille Chiarain) (IATA: CAL, ICAO: EGEC) is located at Machrihanish, 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) west of Campbeltown, near the tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland. The airport was formerly known as RAF Machrihanish (after the village of Machrihanish) and hosted squadrons of the Royal Air Force and other NATO air forces as well as the United States Marine Corps. The airport is at a strategic point near the Irish Sea, and was used to guard the entrance to the Firth of Clyde where US nuclear submarines were based at Holy Loch and where Royal Navy Trident missile submarines are still based at HMNB Clyde (Faslane Naval Base).

For military use of the airport, see RAF Machrihanish.

Campbeltown Airport

Port-adhair Cheann Loch Chille Chiarain

RAF Machrihanish

MoD Machrihanish
Control Tower
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMachrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC)
OperatorHIAL(public airport)
MACC Developments Ltd. (former airbase)
ServesCampbeltown
LocationMachrihanish, Argyll and Bute
Elevation AMSL42 ft / 13 m
Coordinates55°26′15″N 005°41′17″W
WebsiteCampbeltown Airport
Map
EGEC
Location in Argyll and Bute
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 1,750 5,741 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers9,365
Passenger change 13–141.9%
Aircraft Movements1,628
Movements change 13–142.0%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

The United States Navy handed the airfield back to the MoD on 30 June 1995, marking the end of its service as a NATO facility since 1960. The airbase was sold to Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) in May 2012, and two thirds of the runway is leased to Highlands and Islands Airports for Campbeltown Airport.

At 3,049 m (10,003 ft), the original runway 11/29 at Campbeltown Airport is the longest of any public airport in Scotland. It was built between 1960 and 1962 as part of a major reconstruction for the airport's role in NATO.

Campbeltown Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P808) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Highlands & Islands Airports Limited)[3]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Loganair Glasgow

Incidents and accidents
  • On 15 March 2005, a Britten-Norman Islander air ambulance flying an approach into Campbeltown in low clouds crashed into the sea 7.7 miles from the Campbeltown airport, killing both occupants, the pilot and the paramedic. The air ambulance had been sent to Campbeltown to transport a patient to Glasgow for surgery.[4]
gollark: And thus hit rate limits.
gollark: It will relay messages out of there constantly, you see.
gollark: Don't. You'll probably cause issues with ABR.
gollark: Apparently just reading that imposed rate limits on me.
gollark: Only 9? Amateurish.

References
  1. Campbeltown - EGEC
  2. Annual UK Airport Statistics: 2014 - annual Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences Archived 28 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Formal Report AAR 2/2006 Report on the accident to Pilatus Britten-Norman BN2B-26 Islander, G-BOMG, West-north-west of Campbeltown Airport, Scotland, on 15 March 2005. 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
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