Sumburgh Airport

Sumburgh Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorHighlands and Islands Airports
ServesShetland
LocationVirkie, Shetland, Scotland
Elevation AMSL21 ft (6.4 m)
Coordinates59°52′53″N 01°17′38″W / 59.88139°N 1.29389°W / 59.88139; -1.29389
WebsiteSumburgh Airport
Map
EGPB is located in Shetland
EGPB
EGPB
Location in Shetland
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
15/33 1,424 4,672 Asphalt
09/27 1,498 4,915 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
06/24 544 1,785 Asphalt
Statistics (2025)
Passengers282,595
Passenger change 2024-25Decrease2%
Air Transport Movements12,429
Movements change 2024-25Decrease6%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]
Statistics: UK Civil Aviation Authority[2][3]

Sumburgh Airport (IATA: LSI, ICAO: EGPB) is the main airport serving the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is located on the southern tip of the mainland in the parish of Dunrossness, 20 miles (31 km) south of Lerwick.[1] The airport is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) and served by Loganair.

History

Sumburgh Links was surveyed and the grass strips laid out by Captain E. E. Fresson of Highland Airways in 1936: the airport was opened on 3 June of that year with the inaugural flight from Aberdeen (Kintore) by the De Havilland Dragon Rapide G-ACPN piloted by Fresson himself. It was also one of the first airfields to have RDF facilities, due to the frequency of low cloud and fog and the proximity of Sumburgh Head. The runways were built at the instigation of Capt. Fresson, who had proved to the Navy at Hatston (Orkney) that runways were essential to maintain all-round landing facilities over the winter months. This was taken up by the RAF after the obvious success of the Hatston experiment.

The former RAF Sumburgh airfield had three runways, two of which, although extended, remain in use by the present airport. The longest was originally 800 yd (730 m), and the shorter ran for 600 yd (550 m) from shoreline to shoreline. No. 404 Squadron operated Beaufighter Mark VI and X aircraft from this station on coastal raids against Axis shipping off the coast of Norway and in the North Sea. The airport is unusual in that it has a 550 m (1,804 ft) helicopter runway as opposed to the usual helipad. The western end of runway 09/27 crosses the A970 road between Sumburgh (including the airport) and the rest of the island; access is controlled by a level crossing with barriers closed whenever a flight is taking off or landing.

Ownership of the company transferred from the UK Civil Aviation Authority to the Secretary of State for Scotland on 1 April 1995, and subsequently to the Scottish Ministers. HIAL receives subsidies from the Scottish Ministers in accordance with Section 34 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and is sponsored by Transport Scotland which is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and accountable to Scottish Ministers.

Airline and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Loganair Aberdeen,[4] Belfast–City,[a][5] Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness,[6] Kirkwall,[7] Manchester[b][5]
Seasonal: Bergen, Dundee, (ends 23 October 2026)[8] London–Heathrow[c](ends 23 October 2026)[8]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Loganair Glasgow,[9] Kirkwall[9]

Other tenants

The airport is additionally used as a helicopter operational base by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (His Majesty's Coastguard), Bristow Helicopters and Babcock Mission Critical Services Offshore (SAR and crew change operations).

Ground transport

The airport is located 25 miles (40 km) by road from Lerwick. Bus service 6, operated by J&DS Halcrow of Cunningsburgh, provides a regular link between the airport and the town seven days per week. In the evening, and on Sundays, the service is run by Lerwick-based operator, R. Robertson & Son.[10]

Statistics

Busiest routes to and from Sumburgh (2025)[11]
RankAirportTotal
passengers		Change
from 2024
1Aberdeen128,664Increase 2%
2Edinburgh40,314Increase 9%
3Glasgow23,124Increase 3%
4Inverness9,695Decrease 38%
5Kirkwall6,077Increase 108%
6London Heathrow2,362Decrease 28%

Incidents and accidents

  • 31 July 1979: Crash of Dan-Air Flight 0034, a Hawker Siddeley 748 series 1 (registration G-BEKF) operating an oil industry support flight. The aircraft failed to become airborne, overshot the runway and continued into the sea. Although 15 passengers and both pilots died, and the aircraft was destroyed, 29 passengers and the flight attendant survived. The accident was due to the elevator gust-lock having become re-engaged, preventing the aircraft from rotating into a flying attitude.
  • 6 November 1986: British International Helicopters Chinook crash. A Boeing 234LR Chinook helicopter crashed 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of the airport. Only two people survived, with 45 killed.
  • 11 June 2006 Air Accidents Investigation Branch recommended a safety audit of City Star Airlines after a serious incident in which a Dornier 328 crew flew close to cliffs and failed to respond correctly to terrain warnings on approach to Sumburgh Airport after a flight from Aberdeen. The aircraft landed safely. The captain involved was suspended and asked to resign after an investigation.[12]
  • 23 August 2013: A Super Puma AS332 L2, operated by CHC for Total, carrying 16 passengers and two crew from the Borgsten Dolphin oil platform, crashed about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the airport at 18:17 BST. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch identified the lack of effective monitoring of flight instruments as a cause of the crash.[13] Four of those aboard were killed.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Belfast–City service is a continuation of the Inverness service as the same flight number
  2. ↑ Manchester service is a continuation of the Inverness service as the same flight number
  3. ↑ London–Heathrow service is a continuation of the Dundee service as the same flight number

References

  1. 1 2 "NATS Aeronautical Information Service (eAIS Package UK): EGPB Sumburgh". 16 April 2026. pp. AD 2.2, AD 2.12. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "UK airport data 2024-25 / Annual / Table 09 Passengers". CAA.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "UK airport data 2025 / Annual / Table 04.1 Air Transport Movements". CAA.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Aberdeen". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 25 (5). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 10–12. November 2023. ISSN 1466-8718.
  5. 1 2 "New summer services to Belfast and Manchester". 18 September 2024. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  6. ↑ "Inverness". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 25 (5). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 460. November 2023. ISSN 1466-8718.
  7. ↑ "Kirkwall". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 25 (5). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 502. November 2023. ISSN 1466-8718.
  8. 1 2 "Loganair confirms withdrawal of all Dundee operations". BBC News.
  9. 1 2 "Loganair secures new Royal Mail contract". BBC News. 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Lerwick to Sumburgh". Bus Times. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "Airport Data 2025". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 23 March 2026. Table 12.3 (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Flight International. 20–26 March 2007. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "Aircraft Accident Report AAR 1/2016 - G-WNSB, 23 August 2013". Air Accident Investigation Branch. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  14. ↑ "Shetland helicopter crash: Four dead named". BBC News. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.

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