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St Mary's Airport or Isles of Scilly Airport is an airport located east of
Hugh Town Hugh Town ( kw, Treworenys or ) is the largest settlement on the Isles of Scilly and its administrative centre. The town is situated on the island of St Mary's, the largest and most populous island in the archipelago, and is located on a narrow ...
on St Mary's in the
Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...
, to the south west of
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...
, UK. It is the only airport serving the Isles of Scilly, handling all air traffic to and from the Islands. The airport is owned by the
Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
and currently is operated by the Council of the Isles of Scilly.


History

On 15 September 1937, Olley Air Service's subsidiary Channel Air Ferries started the first scheduled service between
Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...
and St Mary's, flying
de Havilland Dragon The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon is a successful small commercial aircraft that was designed and built by the de Havilland company. Design and construction Following the commercial success of its single-engined de Havilland Fox Moth that had f ...
s. Initially, however, the planes landed on the St Mary's golf course. St Mary's Airport was first opened in August 1939, after being converted from High Cross Farm. In 1938, Great Western and Southern Airlines took over Olley Air Service and Channel Air Ferries. It continued the service throughout
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, during which it replaced the Dragons with
de Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rel ...
s. On 1 February 1947 this operation was taken over by
British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
(BEA). In August 1949 a
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
and a passenger waiting room were completed at St Mary's. On 2 May 1964, BEA replaced its Dragon Rapides on the Land's End route with a single
Sikorsky S-61 The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The commercial version of the Sea King was developed during the ...
helicopter, operated by BEA Helicopters. From 1 September 1964 the route was to the new Penzance Heliport. BEA Helicopters later became
British Airways Helicopters British Airways Helicopters was a British helicopter airline from 1964 to 1986. History Starting in 1947, British European Airways (BEA) had operated a Helicopter Experiment Unit. It initially operated a fleet of five helicopters sourced from ...
, and subsequently
British International Helicopters British International Helicopter Services (BIH), owned by Bristow Group, is a British-owned helicopter operator. It operates a fleet of ten helicopters covering search and rescue, offshore, defence, charter and flying training activities from i ...
. A second helicopter was eventually added to the service in the summers. Mayflower Air Services started services to the airport in 1961; this operation was taken over by Scillonian Air Services in 1963, itself taken over by
British Westpoint Airlines British Westpoint Airlines was a British charter and scheduled airline from 1962 to 1967. History The airline started operations in March 1961 operating charters and summer pleasure flights from a base established at Exeter Airport using a f ...
in 1964. Scillonia Airways operated services to the airport from 1966 to 1970. Westward Airways, not to be confused with Westward Airways (Lands End), operated services from 1967 to 1970.
Brymon Airways Brymon Airways is a British former airline with its head office in the Brymon House on the property of Plymouth City Airport in Plymouth, Devon."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 24–30 March 199961 "Brymon House, Plymouth Cit ...
operated services from June 1972 to March 1991, initially with
Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...
aircraft, and two years later,
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restart ...
s. In 1975, a new terminal was opened by the then incumbent Prime Minister
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
. In 1984,
Isles of Scilly Skybus Isles of Scilly Skybus is a British airline which operates year-round scheduled services to the Isles of Scilly from Land's End Airport and Newquay Airport in Cornwall, and seasonal scheduled services from Exeter. Their head office is located i ...
started flights to St Mary's from Land's End, initially freight and
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...
. Scheduled services started on 1 April 1987, flying Islanders and, later, Twin Otters. The current asphalt runway, 15/33, was built in 1991. After being in operation for 48 years, the helicopter service between St Mary's and the mainland UK ceased operations in October 2012, leaving Skybus as the sole remaining air link for the Isles of Scilly. A helicopter service operated between Land's End Airport and St. Mary's in summer 2018. In May 2013, the
Isles of Scilly Steamship Company The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC) operates the principal shipping service from Penzance, in Cornwall, to the Isles of Scilly, located to the southwest. It provides a year-round cargo service together with a seasonal passenger serv ...
and the Council of the Isles of Scilly submitted a joint bid for finance from the
European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...
for improvements to the terminal, new lighting and navigational systems and runway resurfacing, together with runway resurfacing at Land's End Airport. In May 2014, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
gave its approval. The upgrades at St Mary's are expected to cost £6.5million.


Facilities

The terminal at the airport is open all year round whilst the airport is in operation. It has a buffet, toilets, as well as access to wheelchairs upon request. The airport is used as a landing area for some emergency services such as the HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Aircraft (based out of Newquay Airport) and the
Cornwall Air Ambulance The Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust is a charity that provides a dedicated helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The service also has two critical care cars that operate when the helicopter is unable ...
, as well as being the administrative base for the
Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Service The Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory local authority fire and rescue service covering the Isles of Scilly off the coast of the South West of England. It is the smallest fire and rescue service in the United Kingdom and t ...
. A public footpath passes within a few metres of the southern end of the runway; it is closed by warning lights and bells a few minutes before a take-off or landing is due.


Airlines and destinations

As of July 2020, St Mary's Airport has regular service to the following destinations:


Statistics


Incidents

*On 16 July 1983, a
British Airways Helicopters British Airways Helicopters was a British helicopter airline from 1964 to 1986. History Starting in 1947, British European Airways (BEA) had operated a Helicopter Experiment Unit. It initially operated a fleet of five helicopters sourced from ...
passenger helicopter, on a scheduled flight from Penzance Heliport, crashed into the sea short of St Mary's Airport. 19 passengers and one crew member were killed; there were six survivors.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Airport Airports in Cornwall Buildings and structures in the Isles of Scilly Transport in the Isles of Scilly St Mary's, Isles of Scilly