Wick Airport

Wick John O' Groats Airport

Wick Airport terminal
Summary
Airport type Private
Owner/Operator Highlands and Islands Airports Limited
Serves Wick, Highland
Location Wick, Highland
Elevation AMSL 126 ft / 38 m
Coordinates 58°27′32″N 003°05′35″W / 58.45889°N 3.09306°W / 58.45889; -3.09306Coordinates: 58°27′32″N 003°05′35″W / 58.45889°N 3.09306°W / 58.45889; -3.09306
Website Wick Airport
Map
EGPC

Location in Highland

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 1,825 5,988 Grooved Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
Passengers 20,158
Passenger change 15–16 Decrease21%
Aircraft Movements 4,427
Movements change 15–16 Decrease6.3%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Wick John O' Groats Airport (IATA: WIC, ICAO: EGPC) is located 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) north of the town of Wick in Caithness at the north-eastern extremity of the mainland of Scotland. It is owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.

The airport provides air travel connections for Caithness, with scheduled services to Aberdeen Airport and Edinburgh Airport. It is also regularly used by helicopters servicing local offshore oil operations, and as a stop-over by light aircraft ferry flights between Europe and North America via Iceland.

The airport is served by FlyBe, which operates a daily service (excluding Saturdays) to Edinburgh, using its franchise partner Loganair. Certain days have two flights timetabled. Eastern Airways operates twice daily to Aberdeen with three flights scheduled on certain days.

History

Wick was originally a grass airfield, used by Captain E. E. Fresson's Highland Airways Ltd. (later Scottish Airways Ltd.) from 1933 until 1939.

RAF Wick

Requisitioned by the Air Ministry during World War II, the airfield was extended with hard runways, hangars, and other buildings. The airfield was administered by No. 18 Group, RAF Coastal Command. A satellite airfield existed at RAF Skitten.

On 21 May 1941, a photographic reconnaissance Supermarine Spitfire piloted by Flying Officer Michael F. Suckling took off from Wick, and flew to Norway, in search of the German battleship Bismarck. If Bismarck was to break out into the North Atlantic, she would present a significant risk to the ships supplying Britain. 320 miles to the east of Wick, F/O Suckling found and photographed her, hiding in Grimstadfjord.[3] This information enabled the Royal Navy to order HMS Hood and other ships, as well as aircraft, to take positions intended to track Bismarck, and prevent her from entering the North Atlantic. In ensuing battles, Hood was sunk, and, later, Bismarck. German battleships and battle cruisers never again entered the North Atlantic.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Eastern AirwaysAberdeen
Flybe
operated by Loganair		Edinburgh (ends 31 August 2017)
Loganair Edinburgh (begins 1 September 2017)[4]

Statistics

Busiest routes to and from Wick Airport in 2016[2]
Rank Airport Passengers handled 2015-2016 Change
1  United Kingdom - Edinburgh Airport 11,607 Increase4.9%
2  United Kingdom - Aberdeen Airport 5,703 Decrease55.4%

References

  1. ↑ Wick - EGPC
  2. 1 2 UK Airport Statistics: 2016 - annual
  3. ↑ Conyers, Roy (2003). Eyes of the RAF. Sutton Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 0750932562.
  4. ↑ http://www.loganair.co.uk/loganair/press-office/256/scotland%26%23039%3bs-airline-spreads-its-wings
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