BACKGROUND

Many an aviation enthusiast has probably read about, and travelled to Barra, in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

The airport there (BRR) remains unique: it's the only airport having scheduled air services with a beach for its runways in this case by a British Airways/Loganair Twin Otter.

British Airways/Loganair have been operating Twin Otter services to BRR for a number of years. A lifeline for the Outer Hebrides, the link with Glasgow provides locals and visitors alike with a means of getting to and from this part of the world with relative speed. I say relative because the other alternative, a CalMac ferry, takes a number of hours, and that's only to get to Oban!

The franchise agreement between BA and Loganair is due to end this month, with Flybe taking over from BA. It will be interesting to see when the Twin Otters will lose their British Airways plumage, to be replaced with Flybe colours.

I had always wanted to fly the “Twotter” from Glasgow to Barra and back again, just for the experience of landing on a beach. It was also only my second flight on a Twotter, the last being over 10 years ago on an Air Moorea flight from Moorea to Papeete in Tahiti.

In August this year, that opportunity came about and a friend and I made our plans for a unique daytrip. I was also inspired by another recent trip report on A.net involving the Skybus Twin Otter “down south” - thank you Plymspotter.

I flew up to Glasgow the previous evening and met my friend who had driven up from Manchester.

Our flight to Barra, BA8855 was set for the following day, Saturday 16 August 2008.

FAST FACTS

16 Aug 2008
BA8855 GLA - BRR
Dep: 1020 GMT
Arr: 1135 GMT
British Airways operated by Loganair
Twin Otter G-BVVK
Seat: 7A

THE FLIGHT

Unfortunately, as has been the case for most of the past few months in the UK, the weather was not great. However, that did not curb our enthusiasm for making our first beach landing on the smallest aircraft flying in British Airways colours. The thought did occur that if the weather was too bad, our flight would be cancelled – not something we wished for!!! Lots of positive thinking and thankfully, the weather did not deteriorate significantly.

We stayed overnight on Friday at one of the airport hotels so were in plenty of time to check in the following morning at Glasgow International Airport.

The airport departure hall was busy that morning with a number of charter flights operating to warmer climes, as well as the usual transatlantic departures. We managed to print boarding passes without any problems. I had pre-selected seat 7A as this seemed to offer one of the best views, especially for photography.

On Saturdays, there are two flights from Glasgow to Barra. Ours would be the morning flight, to allow 4 hours on Barra, before being picked up again on the return second flight. During the weekdays, the flight from Barra continues onto Benbecula before returning to Glasgow.

Getting near to boarding time….



Our aircraft on stand, awaiting its next beach trip. Yay – no expected delays or cancellations due to weather.



Naturally, we took note of some of the other aircraft at their gates, also getting ready for their flights today. Here’s a sample of the activity that Saturday morning.

Continental 757 to Newark



Flyglobespan 763 to Calgary and Vancouver



Also interesting to see some of the former BA painted Loganair aircraft getting ready for the franchise changeover to Flybe later this month.

Loganair SF340 in hybrid Flybe colours leaving for an intra Scotland flight



Finally boarding was announced and today’s load of 16 passengers were ushered downstairs and out onto the ramp. Not a bad number, considering the maximum number the Twotter could carry was 19.

Walking out onto a slightly chilly ramp, G-BVVK welcomed us aboard for the flight to BRR,





and up the self contained entry stairs into the cabin



I was very pleasantly surprised by how roomy the cabin felt, even though the aircraft was nearly full. I was also pleased with the amount of leg room offered – better than anything I’ve ever experienced before in any economy class flight!!!



Cabin view of G-BVVK whilst still on the ground at GLA. The interior of the aircraft was in immaculate condition, especially considering the fact that it spent most of its life surrounded by sand and salt water!



No real cabin formalities – there are no flight attendants on this flight and the safety briefing was done by the co-pilot. As I was sitting next to the main passenger door, I was asked if I was willing to assist opening the door in case of emergency – of course, no problem!!

What I thought was a very nice touch was the additional information about this unique flight that you won’t find with your BA Highlife magazine on any LHR – JFK flight: a description of the flight and the routing most commonly taken, as well as a map.

Barra is located on the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides, which are north westerly of Glasgow. Flight time today was expected to be 1 hour 15 mins.





The cabin was soon secured and the sound of props could be heard. Even with both fired up, the cabin inside was surprisingly quiet – I was really enjoying the level of comfort on this Twin Otter – it far surpassed many of my recent flights on larger aircraft.

We had a relatively fast taxi to the end of the westerly runway at GLA, passing a few sights along the way



Little did I know that Zoom would not be with us for much longer….



Nice to see a B727 in Europe – does anyone know what this Nomads aircraft was doing in GLA?



Felt so small taxiing by this beast, getting ready for a flight to Florida



Props fired up and without any delay, we were off!





Needless to say, take off was fast and after what felt like only a few seconds, we were climbing into the overcast Glaswegian sky. The rate at which we were climbing made it feel almost like one was travelling in a helicopter!!





I managed to snap a few departure shots (above) as we made a gradual north westerly turn, setting our course for Barra. Unfortunately, it looked like the views, which are promised to be so stunning, would evade us today, due to the amount of cloud cover. Ho hum. It was just so nice being aboard such a unique little aircraft – it was enough just to sit and soak up the atmosphere on this flight.

Notwithstanding the absence of any IFE, cabin service or any other distraction offered on most flights today, the time flew by. The flight itself was actually very smooth – with only a few small bumps along the way – which was surprising, given then state of the weather/cloud formations enroute.

No announcements were made by the pilots but after no time at all, we could feel the aircraft entering into a gradual descent –so Barra could not be far away.

As we descended through the clouds, we were treated with some glimpses of the Outer Hebrides. I had visited parts of the Outer Hebrides before, but this was the first time by air. This part of Scotland is amazing – unique landscapes, windswept but mostly untouched. Some of the waters around the islands are incredibly crystal clear.











I did not realise it at the time, but in this picture below, you can just make out the airport – with the bay (Traigh Mhor) at the left of the picture. The terminal building hugs the edge of the bay.



Banking left and getting ready for final approach to BRR with some great views of the unspoilt beaches that abound in this part of the world:





The landing itself was amazing. Landing on RW11, (see map) we floated in past the airport terminal and gently lowered onto the sand. However, the area had received a lot of rain in the previous 24 hours so while the tide was out, the runway was wet…very wet. We landed into what felt like deep-ish water which meant spray and water covered my entire window – like going through a car wash at high speed! It almost felt like the tide was actually IN..


source: explorescotland.net

Stepping off the aircraft and onto the beach at Traigh Mohr. The Saturday papers were also arriving with us - to be distributed to readers on Barra. It's rare that one has to dust off the sand from one's trainers before entering an airport building!



Our aircraft on the ground…err beach, awaiting start up for its return journey to Glasgow.



We spent 4 hours exploring the airport and surrounds in between dodging the passing rain showers. The flight had been a unique and enjoyable experience. The beach landing was spectacular. There aren’t that many Twin Otter operators left in Europe today, so if you get a chance to do the beach at Barra, I can highly recommend it.

BARRA AIRPORT AND SURROUNDING AREA

Barra Airport is operated by the company, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited and is washed by the tide twice daily. Most civil operations have been with the Twin Otter, although there was a nice large framed photo in the terminal building of the first Loganair Shorts 360 flight from Barra in 1994 – although the aircraft was later deemed unsuited to landing on the beach. Since then, the Twin Otter has reigned supreme at Barra.

The terminal itself, whilst small, is modern and includes a mural on one wall of local wildlife, using sea shells – probably some of which came from the beach outside!





Runway 07 starts….here



The terminal building up close



Looking toward the airport and Traigh Mhor in the distance



Watch out for low flying Twin Otters!



Scotland, always beautiful, no matter what the weather





Twin Otter G-BVVK departs Barra for the return flight to Glasgow





Many thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the report. I will look at posting the return journey separately.