Campbeltown Airport

For military use of the airport, see RAF Machrihanish.

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.

Campbeltown Airport Port-adhair Cheann Loch Chille Chiarain RAF Machrihanish MoD Machrihanish
IATA: CAL ICAO: EGEC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC)
Operator	HIAL (public airport) MACC Developments Ltd. (former airbase)
Serves	Campbeltown
Location	Machrihanish, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK
Elevation AMSL	42 ft / 13 m
Coordinates	55°26′15″N 005°41′17″W
Website	Campbeltown Airport
Map
EGEC Location in Argyll and Bute
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 1,412 4,633 Grooved asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers 6,112 Passenger change 21-22 86% Aircraft movements 1,060 Movements change 21-22 16%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

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).

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]

Since 2017, passengers departing from Campbeltown, as well as Barra and Tiree, have not been subject to security checks, instead declaring that they do not have any prohibited items. Upon arrival at Glasgow, passengers connecting to other flights must go through security there.^[4][5]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Campbeltown:

Airlines	Destinations
Loganair	Glasgow

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at CAL airport. See Wikidata query.

Incidents and accidents

• On 15 March 2005, a Loganair aircraft crashed into the sea 7.7 nautical miles (14.3 km; 8.9 mi) from the Campbeltown Airport, while operating as an air ambulance, killing both occupants, the pilot and the paramedic. The aircraft, a Britten-Norman Islander, was flying an instrument approach into Campbeltown in low clouds. The air ambulance had been sent to Campbeltown to transport a patient to Glasgow for surgery.^[6]