Campbeltown Airport
| Campbeltown Airport | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Code | IATA: CAL, ICAO: EGEC |
| County | Argyllshire |
| Public | |
| Owner | Machrihanish Airbase Community Co. |
| Operator | Highlands and Islands Airports |
| Location | Machrihanish NR668221 55°26’15"N, 5°41’17"W |
| Runway(s) | 5,740 feet (Asphalt) |
| Website | HIAL Campbeltown Airport |
Campbeltown Airport is at Machrihanish on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula of Argyllshire, 3 nautical miles west of Campbeltown, near the tip of Kintyre. Its single scheduled destination is Glasgow, just across the Firth of Clyde.
The airfield 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 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 Ministry of Defence 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 in May 2012, and two thirds of the runway is leased to Highlands and Islands Airports for Campbeltown Airport.
At 10,000 feet, 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)[1]