Islay Airport (also known as Glenegedale Airport) () is located north-northwest of

Port Ellen Port Ellen () is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland. The town is named after the wife of its founder, Walter Frederick Campbell. Its previous name, ''Leòdamas'', is derived from Old Norse meaning "Leòd's Harbour". Port E ...

on the island of

Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, off the west coast of Scotland. It is a small rural

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. Today the airport is used for scheduled services to the Scottish mainland, and for

air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

History

The aerodrome was opened in May 1933, and initially services were provided from Glasgow via Campbeltown by the Midland and Scottish Air Ferries company. However, this was short-lived as the company closed down in late 1934. Services were taken over by a new company,

Northern & Scottish Airways Northern & Scottish Airways was a regional airline established in Glasgow in 1934. It was taken over in 1937, eventually becoming part of British European Airways. History Formation The potential of running scheduled air services to the Western ...

who operated a De Havilland Dragon aircraft three times per week from Glasgow. In 1937, the company amalgamated with Highland Airways and formed

Scottish Airways Scottish Airways was an airline serving most of Scotland, especially the Highlands and Islands. It was active from 1937 until 1947, when it was merged into British European Airways. History Foundation The company was established on 12 August 1 ...

, who operated daily flights from Glasgow to Islay on Monday to Saturday. This service continued with minor disruptions for urgent military duties for the duration of the Second World War. In 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, ordered military airfields to be constructed in the western islands of Scotland, both to defend against a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

assault on the Scottish mainland and also to provide reconnaissance planes a base to fly missions over the Atlantic Ocean. The present Islay airport was constructed as RAF Port Ellen in 1940, and received a concrete runway in 1942. During the Second World War, over 1,500

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) personnel were stationed at RAF Port Ellen. The following units were here at some point: * Relief Landing Ground for No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (August 1941) *

No. 48 Squadron RAF No. 48 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Squadron (aviation), squadron that saw service in both the First World War, First and Second World Wars. History First World War No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Netheravon Air ...

* No. 304 Ferry Training Unit RAF (December 1942 – December 1943) *

878 Naval Air Squadron 878 Naval Air Squadron (878 NAS), sometimes called 878 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was briefly active during the Second World War and operated with Grumman Wildcat fighters ...

890 Naval Air Squadron 890 Naval Air Squadron (890 NAS), sometimes known as 890 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated de Havilland Sea Vixen carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter a ...

On 1 February 1947, Scottish Airways Ltd and its subsidiary company Western Isles Airways Ltd was taken over by British European Airways Corporation as part of the nationalisation of transport services under the Civil Aviation Act of 1946. In 1948, a question was raised in the House of Commons in relation to the number of staff (17) currently employed. On 28 September 1957, de Havilland Heron 1B G-AOFY, while operating a flight for the Scottish Air Ambulance Service, crashed on approach to Islay, in bad weather. The three occupants, Captain T.M. Calderwood, radio officer Hugh McGinlay, and Sister Jane Kennedy from Glasgow's Southern General Hospital were killed. One of the remaining two Herons was named ''Sister Jean Kennedy'' after the nurse; the other after

James Young Simpson Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform in humans and ...

, a Scottish pioneer in anaesthetics. This was the first crash in the history of the Scottish Air Ambulance Service. On 29 June 1994, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

made headlines when he overshot the runway while landing a

BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manu ...

of No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron of the RAF on the runway of the airport. Although no one was injured, the plane was badly damaged.Official report
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Airlines and destinations

Statistics

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Official website
{{authority control Airports in Scotland Highlands and Islands Airports Airports established in 1933 1933 establishments in Scotland Islay