An airport on the beach Flying to the Scottish island of Barra, you'll experience something unique in Europe: a landing directly by the sea. The flight schedule is based on the tides. Find out more in part 7 of our series "Extreme Places". The airport on the Scottish island of Barra Baggage chaos, long queues at check-in, and endless security procedures – travellers struggle with these problems at most of the world's airports at least in "normal" times beyond a pandemic. This is not the case in Barra, however. Things are a whole lot more sedate at this small Scottish island's airport, as the staff here only have around 8,000 passengers a year to process. The pilots, on the other hand, face a very specific challenge when flying into Barra, as the airport is on the beach; or more precisely, the beach