Booking
Seeing as this was my third time flying with Loganair and booking a flight directly with the airline, I was confident that booking a ticket for the flight down to Glasgow would prove to be a trouble-free experience. However, before doing this, I decided to sign up to Loganair’s Clan Loganair frequent flyer programme. That said, based in London it would likely take some time before I would be able to accrue enough points to redeem on a Loganair service. Once signed up and logged in, I headed over to the flight search engine and entered all the relevant details before being provided with Loganair’s impressive total of three direct Twin Otter services between Barra and Glasgow that Saturday. Ruling out the earliest 1305 departure given the higher cost, I instead opted for the slightly later 1425 flight. This would set me back a grand total of £80, although being the highest fare class (Fly Flex +) I would be afforded a range of privileges including full flexibility, 30kg of hold luggage and most importantly free seat selection. This would also allow me to receive 800 Clan Loganair points. For some context, 4000 points are required to redeem a one-way Loganair flight.
Moving onwards, I then had the option of choosing a seat. Hoping to sit on the left hand side of the aircraft as in the rare event of good weather, it would allow for slightly more impressive views on the ride southwards, I was left with two options – 2A or 7A. Having previously ridden up to Tiree in 2A and enjoyed the views of the engine and cockpit, I opted for the latter option – a fold-down seat with largely unobstructed views of the world outside. Once selected, I then entered my card details and received confirmation of my purchase within several seconds – this ending yet another positive booking experience with Loganair.
Online check-in for all Loganair services opens up several days prior to departure, although unlike Ryanair, passengers are not penalised for checking in at the airport. Whilst I had already reserved a seat and was in no rush to check-in, upon receiving the email inviting me to do so, I decided to check-in via Loganair’s app. Once I had confirmed that I would not transport any prohibited goods, as a domestic flight minimal passenger information was needed and I received my mobile boarding pass in a matter of seconds.
The Flight
Having arrived in Barra the previous evening on Caledonian MacBrayne’s daily ferry service from Oban, making the voyage over aboard the MV Isle of Lewis, I opted to stay the night in a hostel in Castlebay. Whilst enjoying status as Barra’s largest settlement, surrounded by the sea on one side and rocky hills on the other, it is not exactly an ideal location for an airport. Instead, the island’s famous beach airport sits at the opposite end of the island, on Traigh Mhòr (literally ‘big beach’) – the only part of Barra flat enough to be used by aircraft.
For those lacking a car and needing to get to the airport, the W32 bus service runs several times per day, looping around the island and connecting Castlebay with
Barra’s villages and airport. Not fancying an almost three hour long walk along narrow and largely pavement-less roads, nor wanting to splurge out on a taxi, I decided to catch this bus to the airport. At the time of my trip, as per the bus’ summer 2021 timetables, this made the journey around the island four times per day between Monday and Saturday, with those needing to get to the airport on a Sunday out of luck if they wanted to arrive by bus. Departing from Castlebay at 0845, 1035, 1400 and 1630, given my flight’s scheduled departure time of 1425, I had little option other than to take the 1035 bus. Nevertheless needing to check-out of my hostel by 1000 and with no rain forecast in the late morning and early afternoon, all this meant was that I would spend more time exploring the area around the airport rather than in Castlebay.
Some photos of Castlebay
On the morning of my departure, I had woken up bright and early with the intention of hiking to the top of Barra’s tallest peak, Heaval. Yet rather worryingly, upon waking up and looking out of the window at the bay below, I was greeted by the sight of low lying cloud whilst every minute or so strong gusts would rattle the entire building. Deciding not to climb up Heaval, I instead made a quick morning walk around Castlebay, stopping at the Co-op for breakfast before returning to the hostel and preparing myself for the day ahead. Leaving the hostel for good just before 1000, I made my way down towards the ferry terminal, and arrived at the bus stop with plenty of time to go prior to the bus’ scheduled departure time. Just before 1035, the W32 bus service, operated by a modern Mercedes minibus belonging to the island’s Aurora Transport Company appeared. Boarding this along with five other passengers, I soon exchanged greetings with the friendly driver and paid the £1.90 for the ticket before this pulled away and commenced its round-island trip.
One of the more scenic bus stops I have waited at
Safely onboard
Once out of Castlebay, the bus headed eastwards along the A888, the road that circles around the southern portion of the island. Likely torture for those who suffer from motion sickness, this bounced up and down Barra’s hills and weaved in and out of the island’s bays – passing through the villages of Brevig, Earsairidh, Buaile nam Bodach and Bayherivagh. Upon reaching Northbay, the bus turned off and journeyed down the narrow road that leads to the village of Eoligarry on Barra’s northern tip. After making a quick stop at Ardmhòr ferry terminal, serving those services up to Lochboisdale on South Uist, the bus headed around the turquoise coloured bay before the shores of Traigh Mhòr appeared heralding the end of my journey. Soon enough, the bus pulled up outside the airport terminal where I was the sole passenger to disembark.
From the exterior, Barra Airport’s terminal blends in well with local architectural styles to the extent that were it not for the protruding control tower or the various signs, visitors to Barra may simply drive past this, unaware of the presence of a famous active airport. In fact, between flights when the windsock is not hoisted, locals and visitors are free to roam the beach – with this serving as a popular cockle picking site, and thus there is no real barrier between the road and the beach. Seeing as I was in need of my first coffee of the day, and still having three hours to go until my flight, I had hoped to visit the airport’s highly rated café before heading off on a short explore of the local area. However, with almost two hours to go until the first arrival of the day, the terminal remained locked and I thus brought forward my exploration plans.
From the terminal, I crossed the sand dunes and ended up on Traigh Eais on the windy Atlantic coastline. After several minutes spent admiring the turquoise waves crashing on the beach, soaking up the peacefulness and thinking of the land beyond the sea (Newfoundland), I then headed back over to Traigh Mhòr and walked along the beach at which point one of the ground staff members could be seen hoisting up the two windsocks as the tide slowly edged further out into the bay. After taking a good selection of photos, I slowly trundled back over to the terminal in the hope that this would have opened its doors, ready to welcome the day’s passengers.
Fortunately, I was in luck and after turning the plastic handle of the terminal’s door, I entered and was greeted by the sight of a hot drinks vending machine and an elderly passenger who promptly asked if I knew how to use this ‘new-fangled’ machine. Once I had pressed the correct buttons and ensured the passenger received their coffee, I proceeded onwards, passing a magazine rack with little literature other than a selection of journals relating to Britain’s emergency services.
Above this stood a community notice board filled with advertisements for a range of local businesses, whilst on the right the terminal’s toilets could be spotted, after passing which I arrived at the terminal’s main waiting area. On one side of this stands Loganair’s check-in desk, whilst in another corner the café could be seen. Unfortunately, and I suspect a victim of the pandemic, the café that once served as a community hub was entirely closed – its duties replaced by a couple of vending machines. Thus, rather than a coffee and cake, I had to make do with a mint Aero and low quality cappuccino from the vending machine – the combined price of which came to a reasonable £2.30.
As soon as I entered the terminal, the staff member manning the check-in counter called me over and asked me whether I would be flying that day. After informing the agent that I would be on the afternoon flight, I confirmed by name and once the agent double checked that I had already checked in online, I was free to explore the terminal. Examining the terminal’s décor, perhaps unlikely to win any awards for its design, the walls of this were painted in a retro sky blue which appeared to have faded in places. On the far wall, a flock of local mosaic birds could be seen whilst another wall was adorned by photographs showcasing Barra. Meanwhile, photographs of aircraft at Barra were dotted about around the check-in desk and a hanging model of a Twin Otter sporting Loganair’s its pre-British Airways livery swung above this.
For those arriving with plenty of time before their flight, aside from the complimentary emergency services magazines, the waiting area features a large flatscreen television which broadcast Magic TV – with 1980s hits ringing out virtually uninterrupted for the duration of my stay. For those wishing to connect with the world, complimentary wifi is offered which I found to be quick and work without any fault. However, if you are intending on taking a lot of photographs during your flight, I would advise against wasting too much battery during your stay in the terminal as plug sockets were somewhat hard to come by. Finally, large windows offered good views of the action outside and I found the terminal to be in a clean state for the duration of my stay. Whilst Barra Airport’s terminal may not be particularly modern, as with many remote airports of a similar size, it offers a homely and welcoming atmosphere, and left me with no real complaints.
That day, three scheduled departures could be seen on the departure boards – all Loganair services to Glasgow set to head off to the mainland at 1245, 1405 and 1600. In addition, two passengers set to head off on a charter flight appeared, which somewhat initially puzzled the Loganair agent who had no idea of this. Strangely enough, I knew exactly about this service - by coincidence, having flown with Hebridean Air Services two days earlier, the pilot had told me he would be operating a charter from Barra to Glenforsa that day. Once the agent confirmed with a colleague that there was indeed a charter service set for that afternoon, and informed the passengers that this aircraft was on its way over from Oban, I decided to head outside and get myself in a prime position ready to snap a photograph of the aircraft’s arrival.
Around twenty minutes after finding the ideal spot on the shoreline, the Islander that I had flown on earlier that week appeared with its bright landing lights and distinctive yellow livery. After floating down over Ardmhòr, this made a quiet touchdown on one of Barra’s three beach runways. That afternoon, the air was notably chillier than on previous days, with temperatures hovering around 13 degrees with the chill factor assisted by a fair wind blowing in from the North Atlantic. In spite of this, I decided to wait outside to catch the Islander depart off to the Isle of Mull, after which the first scheduled arrival of the day appeared following an hour long flight from Glasgow. This particular service was operated by Viking Air Twin Otter G-SGTS, ruling out the possibility that my early afternoon flight would be operated by this aircraft – leaving fellow Viking Air manufactured G-HIAL (the aircraft I had flown several months earlier to Tiree), and the much older G-BVVK. Hoping for the latter aircraft, checking FlightRadar24, I was delighted to see that this had just departed from Glasgow and was steaming northwest towards the Hebrides.
The Hebridean Islander arriving from its base at Oban
And departing for Glenforsa
The first scheduled flight of the day
Carrying the sinister construction number of 666, De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter G-BVVK was manufactured at the company’s Toronto Downsview plant in late 1979 and took to the Canadian skies for the first time in late January 1980. Destined for Europe, the following month the aircraft crossed the Atlantic and joined the fleet of Norwegian carrier Widerøe as LN-BEZ. Remaining there for over fourteen years, in December 1994 the Twin Otter was re-registered as G-BVVK and was painted into British Airways’ Landor livery with British Airways Express titles. Operated by Loganair, the aircraft was put to work connecting Glasgow with the islands off Scotland’s western coast. Whilst the aircraft has remained in this role with Loganair since then, the aircraft has been repainted into various liveries. At some point in the early noughties, this received British Airways’ updated Chatham Dockyard livery. In 2008, Loganair became a Flybe franchisee and the aircraft soon sported an interim livery with British Airways titles removed and the carrier’s Union Flag tail painted white. In April 2009, the aircraft was painted into Flybe’s light blue and white colour scheme. Loganair’s eventual independence in April 2017 would eventually see the aircraft repainted into Loganair’s own colours. In January 2018, this aircraft was christened with the name ‘Spirit of Eilidh’ named in memory of a Barra teenager who was sadly a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack.
That lunchtime, it appeared that few would be making the journey to Glasgow on G-SGTS, with this turboprop transporting a grand total of five passengers back to the mainland. After watching this power up before making a quick taxi and departure, I returned to the terminal to warm up before making my way outside to watch G-BVVK touch down on the sandy runway. By this time, the terminal was a little busier although it was difficult to decipher who was actually travelling on the early afternoon service from those who were waiting for inbound passengers and those simply there to watch the aircraft.
At 1400, I watched from the terminal’s car park as Loganair’s vintage Twin Otter made what appeared to be a gentle touchdown on the beach before making a quick taxi over to the terminal. As this came to a halt, the engines spooled down and I made my way back inside in preparation for departure. Making one last Barra bathroom visit, I was pleased to find the toilets to be in a clean and pleasant state in spite of the constant stream of passengers and visitors passing through the terminal at the time.
Turning my attention back outside, disembarkation appeared to take a fair while to commence, with a grand total of twelve passengers eventually emerging from the Twin Otter’s small cabin before making their way over to Barra Airport’s grand arrivals hall, in other words, the car park. In a move that you would be unlikely to see at most airports, the airport staff members allowed those meeting an elderly passenger to drive their car onto the beach and right up to the aircraft. As soon as the small selection of passengers’ bags had been loaded into the rear of the aircraft, at 1423, two minutes prior to our scheduled boarding time, the Loganair agent opened the door of the ‘security room’ and invited all passengers to head out to the aircraft. Walking straight through this small room with neither a security nor boarding pass check, we were led outside in a line over to the mighty Twin Otter.
After snapping a few quick photos, I made my way around the port wing and was greeted at the rear door by the flight’s friendly first officer – a fellow who I had spotted multiple times in Loganair Twin Otter trip reports on YouTube! Upon presenting my boarding pass, I was informed that I would be seated in the rearmost row and advised to mind my head as I climbed up into the cabin. Cautiously ascending the Twin Otter’s five steps, with the door only 1.42 metres tall, following the first officer’s advice I bowed my head to avoid banging this as I entered the aircraft before almost immediately taking my seat. As expected, those two seats in the rearmost row, row 7, fold downwards, this allowing for the easy loading of cargo into the cabin when required.
As one would expect from a rugged utility aircraft designed to haul passengers and freight between the world’s more remote airports, the cabin of the Twin Otter is relatively spartan. Below, easy-to-clean plastic lino covered the cabin floor which was just as well seeing as with every passenger that boarded, more and more sand granules were making their way into the aircraft. Onboard, the passenger cabin features nineteen thin seats covered in a dark blue leather covering. In spite of the significant age difference between G-BVVK and Loganair’s Viking Air Twin Otters, the cabin of the aircraft featured only subtle differences to those of its newer counterparts which likely go unnoticed to non-enthusiasts. The most notable differences in the passenger cabin being the position of the PSUs which were located directly above passengers on this older aircraft, as well as the design of the cabin panelling. Focusing on the former, I was unable to get the reading light to work, although this was not needed. In spite of being rather thin and narrow, I did not find the seats onboard the Twin Otter to be particularly uncomfortable – although I was fortunate enough to be making the journey down to Glasgow in the most spacious seat onboard! Given the age of the aircraft, I was not surprised to spot a few marks and scratches dotted about through the cabin although this was nothing too major, and no worse that I had seen on other aircraft of a similar age.
A classic logo
That afternoon, a grand total of eleven passengers would be heading down to Glasgow, equating to a load of 58%. Those onboard seemed to be a mixture of middle aged and elderly tourists travelling in pairs, as well as solo travellers – most of whom appeared to be islanders who were waved off by family and friends. Given the light load, boarding took all of three minutes and after exchanging final farewells with the three ground crew members, the first officer hopped up the steps and firmly closed the cabin door. Once this was shut, the co-pilot informed both myself and the passenger in seat 7C that our lifejackets were not underneath the seats in front of us as he would mention in the safety briefing but were instead located in a pouch rear bulkhead that sat between seats 7A and 7C. From there, the first officer headed to the front of the cabin, turned around and performed a quick welcome – mentioning our flight time of an hour and the weather enroute, before conducting a safety briefing.
Once the first officer had strapped themselves in up front, the ground power unit was disconnected with an audible click like sound from a port just behind my seat, whilst the two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 turboprop engines spooled up and the 3-blade propellers whirled into life before the flaps were partially extended. At this early stage of the flight, from my position at the rear of the cabin things did not seem to be overly noisy considering the small size of the aircraft and its likely lack of any decent noise insulation. Following a short pause, the aircraft lurched forward under its own power and cautiously turned around, commencing a quick and expectedly bouncy taxi along the sand, travelling roughly parallel to the shoreline.
Within a minute or so, the aircraft arrived at the long wooden pole that marks the end of runway 33. Following a short hold during which several engine checks were performed, at 1535 the Twin Otter taxied onto the largely unmarked 846 metre long beach runway, the longest at the airport. Following another quick pause, take-off power was applied and the aircraft commenced its short and bouncy take-off, with the cabin filling with noise, vibration and the notable scent of oil. Before I knew it, within a matter of seconds the aircraft gently rotated, allowing for a splendid birds eye view of the shoreline and terminal.
Once in the skies, the Twin Otter noisily crossed over the sandy stretch of beach that I had visited earlier, Traigh Eais and headed out over the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean with clear views of Greian Head to the south visible for a short time before the aircraft banked to the right to set a course towards the mainland. After rolling out, the blue and turquoise waters of the Sound of Barra came into view as did the small uninhabited island of Fiaraidh. This was proceeded by the larger yet still uninhabited island of Fuday which according to Wikipedia is still used to graze cattle on during the summer months. Meanwhile, the inhabited islands of Eriskay and the coastline of South Uist could be seen briefly popping up behind these before Hellisay passed by beneath the aircraft. Moments after passing over this final island, the aircraft rose up into the clouds, cutting through these without any bumps before blue skies appeared above.
From Barra, the aircraft headed southeast on a heading of 129 degrees and levelled off at its cruising altitude of 9000 feet just before crossing the coastline of the Inner Hebridean island of Coll. Whilst the thick clouds below meant nothing could be seen of this, the rocky shoreline of the significantly sized yet sparsely populated island of Rùm could be seen through gaps in the clouds off the aircraft’s port wing. With little to see below at this stage in the flight, and with no inflight magazine provided due to the ongoing pandemic, there was little to do to pass the time other than soak up the atmosphere of the 41-year old turboprop. This of course was by no means a difficult task for me to do, whilst my fellow flyers seemed to pass the time by taking photos, sleeping, reading and watching content on their personal devices. At this stage in the flight, I noticed that the cabin was rather chilly and so I would advise those intending to fly on Loganair’s Twin Otters to bring a jumper along with them.
After cutting across Coll, the Twin Otter reached the Isle of Mull where a very small glimpse of the island’s coastline could be had through a miniscule gap in the clouds. This was followed a short time later by a slightly larger preview of the island at its opposite end, with Loch Spelve appearing for a few moments. Cruising at a ground speed of around 170 knots, the Twin Otter reached the Scottish mainland exactly thirty minutes after taking off from Barra crossing the coastline near the Argyll and Bute village of Arduaine.
Whilst Loganair’s Hebridean services are well known for offering terrific views of Scotland, below the clouds continued to obscure much of the country. However, a small gap once again opened up revealing Loch Fyne as the aircraft commenced its slow descent, and then Loch Long. As we crossed the latter, Coulport could be seen to the north of the aircraft where the Maltese flagged crude oil tanker, the Australis could be seen docked. Moments later, the aircraft turned to the west and parts of the town of Helensburgh could be seen before the Twin Otter crossed into the skies of West Dunbartonshire where the southern shores of the famous Loch Lomond appeared.
After passing over the town of Balloch, the Twin Otter sank into the white clouds and began to be thrown about quite a bit as we journeyed back towards earth. Whilst not the most severe I have ever experienced, this turbulence was perhaps some of the bumpiest I had experienced for quite some time and remained all the way until our touchdown in Glasgow. From my position at the rear of the aircraft, I managed to see at least a couple of worried passengers clinging on to their seats, fortunately I failed to spot anyone lurching forwards to grab a sickbag! Following around a minute of flying through the thick clouds, the Campsie Fells appeared below as the aircraft trundled towards Scotland’s largest city. The presence of these hills in close proximity to Glasgow means that when landing on the airport’s runway 23, the approach to this is perhaps one of the most scenic of any major airport in the UK.
Once the hills flattened out a little, the scenery below transformed into hills and then again into Glasgow’s northern suburbs as the aircraft banked before rolling out on a heading that would take it directly to runway 23. At this point in the flight, virtually the entirety of Glasgow could be seen out of the window whilst the aircraft sank down over the suburbs of Milngavie, Bearsden and Drumchapel. As the aircraft neared the River Clyde, the flaps were fully extended and for a few moments the aircraft appeared to yaw rather dramatically from left to right whilst up front plenty of movement could be seen as the first officer fought with the control column to ensure as smooth an approach as possible.
After crossing over the Clyde Boatyard, the Renfrew Golf Club appeared as the aircraft performed what seemed to be a relatively steep dive towards the runway. Once past the small peninsula where the River Cart divides into the Black Cart Water and White Cart Water, the aircraft dived over the perimeter fence and at 1528, the stall warning horn rang out through the cabin and the Twin Otter touched down with a squeaky thud, ending a pleasant 53 minutes in the air. As the aircraft slowed, Gama Aviation’s open hangars came into view where several King Airs could be seen inside. This was followed by the general aviation area where three aircraft – an Air Charter Scotland Cessna Citation CJ2, a DragonFly King Air 250 and a North Flying A/S Metroliner could be seen, before the terminal came into view.
Following some gentle breaking, the Twin Otter made its way off the runway and headed around the mostly empty terminal, soon cautiously pulling in between a Loganair Embraer 145 and a Saab 340, these having arrived earlier that afternoon from Southampton and Sumburgh respectively. Once the engines powered down, the cabin was filled with silence before the first officer exited the cockpit and welcomed all to Glasgow, requesting passengers remain seated until being advised to disembark the aircraft. Making their way to the rear of the cabin, the first officer opened up the cabin door and was greeted by a couple of members of ground staff. Following a short conversation, passengers were advised to make their way out of the aircraft and once outside were asked to gather around the port wing. Once all eleven passengers were safely on the apron, a Menzies Aviation worker guided us towards the door towards arrivals from Jersey and Ireland. Heading through these doors, following a short walk these took us all straight to the baggage collection area rather than back into the airside departures area as with most domestic arrivals. Whilst I cannot be certain of the exact reason as to why we were not taken on the standard route through the airport for domestic arrivals, I suspect this may be something to do with the lack of a security check in Barra, thus ensuring that we could not enter a ‘secure’ portion of the airport.
Conclusion
Arriving in Glasgow, I had finally achieved my mission to sample one of the UK’s most famous routes. All-in-all, this was a fantastic trip and it is something that I would advise any aviation enthusiast passing through the UK to try. Turning to Loganair, as has been the case with all my trips with the carrier thus far, the airline left me with nothing to complain about; the booking and check-in process was painless, and all staff members I interacted with were friendly and welcoming.
Thank you for reading and I'll leave you with this photo of G-BVVK departing around thirty minutes later for Tiree, taken as I waited for my EasyJet flight back to London
