Wick Airport

Wick John O'Groats Airport
Characteristics
ICAO code	EGPC
IATA code	WIC
Coordinates	58 ° 27 '32 "  N , 3 ° 5' 35"  W Coordinates: 58 ° 27 '32 "  N , 3 ° 5' 35"  W.
Height above MSL	38 m (125  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	1.9 km north of Wick
Street
Basic data
operator	Highlands and Islands Airports
Passengers	20,158 (2016)
Flight movements	4,427 (2016)
Start-and runway
13/31	1825 m × 45 m grooved asphalt

Wick Airport ( IATA code : WIC ; ICAO code : EGPC ; officially Wick John O'Groats Airport ) is located 1.9 km north of the city of Wick in the Highland Council Area at the northeast end of Scotland . The operator and owner is Highlands and Islands Airports Limited .

There have been no more scheduled flights since June 19, 2020. There are still regular flights with helicopters serving local offshore oil platforms. The airport also serves as a stopover for light aircraft transfer flights between Europe and North America via Iceland .

history

Wick was originally a grass airfield operated by Captain EE Fresson's Highland Airways Ltd. (later Scottish Airways Ltd. ) was used from 1933 to 1939.

RAF Wick

Due to requirements by the Aviation Ministry during the Second World War, the airfield was expanded with hard runways, hangars and other buildings. The airfield was owned by the No. 18 Group , RAF Coastal Command . A satellite airfield existed at RAF Skitten.

On May 21, 1941, a Supermarine Spitfire with the pilot Flying Officer Michael F. Saugling took off on a photographic reconnaissance mission from Wick and flew to Norway in search of the German battleship Bismarck . If the Bismarck had reached the North Atlantic, it would pose a significant risk to the ships supplying Britain. At a distance of 320 miles east of Wick, F / O Suckling found and photographed the ship, hidden in the Grimstadfjord. This information enabled the Royal Navy to place the HMS Hood and other ships and aircraft in positions to track the Bismarck and prevent them from reaching the North Atlantic. In the battles that followed, the HMS Hood was sunk, and later the Bismarck as well. German battleships and battle cruisers never returned to the North Atlantic.

Airlines and Destinations

Loganair's flights to Edinburgh were suspended on March 27, 2020 and Eastern Airways suspended flights to Aberdeen on June 19, 2020 .

Web links

Commons : Wick Airport  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Passenger numbers at all airports in the United Kingdom. (PDF; 79 kB) In: caa.co.uk. Civil Aviation Authority , accessed July 30, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Aircraft movements at all UK airports. (PDF; 157 kB) In: caa.co.uk. Civil Aviation Authority , accessed July 30, 2017 . 
3. ↑ 'Dismay' at the end of Wick to Edinburgh flights. In: bbc.com. March 13, 2020, accessed on March 16, 2020 .