Stornoway Airport

Stornoway Airport is an airfield on the Outer Hebrides Isle of Lewis. It is about 2 nautical miles (2.2 miles; 3.7 km) east of Stornoway, the biggest town on the island. The Royal Air Force maintained an RAF airbase at the site of the airport until 1998. Stornoway Airport is owned by HIAL, a company controlled by the Scottish Government. The airfield was first opened in 1937, and used mainly for military purposes. NATO aircraft used the airport for missions over the North Atlantic and for stop overs to Greenland and the United States. Nowadays the airfield is mainly used for domestic passenger services. The Royal Mail also operates a daily mail flight. CHC Helicopters operate two Sikorsky S-92 helicopters, equipped for search and rescue on behalf of the Coastguard. The helicopter crews have flown on over 3,100 callouts since the establishment of the service in May 1987. There are also several privately owned light aircraft based at the airport. Stornoway Airport was also the location of an emergency landing made by an American Airlines Boeing twin-engined 767 jet, on its way from Sweden to Chicago in April 2001, due to a medical emergency on board. It stayed at the airport for 2 days. Flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Benbecula are regular. References