Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Oban Airport (ICAO: EGEO) is a small licensed aerodrome at North Connel on Scotland's west coast, about six miles northeast of Oban itself, serving as the mainland gateway for scheduled island flights to Coll, Colonsay, Tiree and Islay. For the visiting VFR pilot it offers a short but adequate hard runway, AFIS coverage, and some of the finest scenery in the Hebrides, sitting right beside the tidal race of the Falls of Lora on Loch Etive.
Oban Airport sits at North Connel in Argyll and Bute, a short distance northeast of the town of Oban, and is owned and operated by Argyll and Bute Council. It gained a CAA licence as a commercial airport in 2008 following an upgrading programme, and today is the base for Hebridean Air Services' scheduled flights linking the mainland with Coll, Colonsay, Tiree and Islay. The field also welcomes private pilots and charter traffic drawn by the dramatic surrounding landscape of Loch Etive, Loch Linnhe and the Inner Hebrides, making it a rewarding if compact destination for a Highland or island-hopping flight.
The airfield lies at North Connel, close to the Falls of Lora tidal narrows where Loch Etive meets the sea, roughly six miles (nine kilometres) northeast of Oban. It is a small regional aerodrome without its own control tower, operating under an AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service) rather than full air traffic control.
Oban has a single hard, lit runway aligned 01/19. Runway 01 is 3,736 feet long and Runway 19 is 3,480 feet long, both with a hard surface and runway lighting. There is no ILS. Field elevation is 23 feet.
The airfield is served by an Aerodrome Flight Information Service, Oban Information, on 118.055 MHz. There is no instrument landing system, so arrivals and departures are conducted visually, with the AFIS providing traffic and aerodrome information rather than air traffic control instructions.
As Oban operates under AFIS rather than a full ATC service, pilots are responsible for their own separation and should call Oban Information on 118.055 MHz for traffic and aerodrome information when inbound or operating in the vicinity. No specific published circuit heights or noise abatement procedures are given in available information, so pilots should exercise normal good airmanship and listen out on the AFIS frequency for other traffic.
The airfield is readily identified by its position beside the Falls of Lora, the dramatic tidal race at the mouth of Loch Etive, and by the village of North Connel immediately adjacent. Loch Linnhe, used for local scenic flights, lies close by, and the town of Oban itself provides a clear coastal landmark a few miles to the southwest.
The site was used during the Second World War by No. 17 Group of RAF Coastal Command, with two tarmac runways, and also supported the nearby RAF Oban seaplane base. In April 2007 three people were killed when a light aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from the airport. The airport's management by Argyll and Bute Council has at times been the subject of local controversy over costs and traffic levels, and in July 2009 a dispute arose when the Argyll Aero Club erected a fence around leased land, which the council said reduced the usable runway length to the point that fixed-wing air ambulance flights could no longer land.
Oban Airport is licensed by the CAA as a commercial aerodrome and today handles scheduled flights operated by Hebridean Air Services to Coll, Colonsay, Tiree and Islay, alongside private and charter flying and locally operated scenic flights over the Loch Linnhe area. The airport publishes information for visiting pilots and handles PPR requests, so prior permission should be arranged before arrival. On the ground there is a snack bar serving hot and cold refreshments and a meeting room available for hire.
