Kirkwall Airport
Port-adhair Bhaile na h-Eaglais
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | HIAL | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Mainland, Orkney | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Kirkwall | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | Loganair | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 58 ft / 18 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 58°57′29″N 002°54′02″W / 58.95806°N 2.90056°W / 58.95806; -2.90056 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | Kirkwall Airport | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  EGPA Location in Orkney | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||||||
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Sources: UK AIPatNATS[1] | |||||||||||||||
Kirkwall Airport (IATA: KOI, ICAO: EGPA) (Scottish Gaelic: Port-adhair Bhaile na h-Eaglais) is the main airport serving Orkney in Scotland. It is located 2.5 NM (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) southeast of Kirkwall[1] and is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. The airport is used by Loganair.
The airport was built and commissioned in 1940 as RAF Grimsetter for the defence of the Scapa Flow naval base. In 1943, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm took over, as RNAS Grimsetter then HMS Robin. Control passed in 1948 to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and in 1986 to Highlands and Islands Airports.[3]
The following RAF units were here at some point:
On 6 July 1943, RAF Grimsetter was transferred on loan to the Admiralty and known as Royal Naval Air Station Grimsetter (RNAS Grimsetter). On 15 August, it was commissioned as HMS Robin, as a satellite to RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk),[8] located 1 mi (1.6 km) to the north west of Kirkwall.
The following Fleet Air Arm units were here at some point:[9]
The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Kirkwall:
| Airlines | Destinations |
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| Loganair[10] | Aberdeen, Dundee, Eday,[11] Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, London–Heathrow,[a] North Ronaldsay,[12] Papa Westray, [13] Sanday, [14] Stronsay, [15] Sumburgh, Westray[16] Seasonal: Fair Isle[17] |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Royal Mail[18] | Glasgow, Sumburgh |
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Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
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| Year | Passengers handled | Aircraft movements | ||
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| No. | % change | No. | % change | |
| 2015 | 160,234 | 
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10,701 |
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| 2016 | 163,029 |  01.7%
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11,045 | 03.2%
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| 2017 | 177,248 | 09.0%
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14,754 | 08.7%
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| 2018 | 181,562 | 02.4%
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14,771 | 00.1%
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| 2019 | 171,603 |  05.9%
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14,247 | 03.5%
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| 2020 | 63,113 | 63.2%
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9,498 | 33.3%
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| 2021 | 85,665 | 35.7%
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9,574 | 17.0%
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| 2022 | 133,410 | 56.0%
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9,876 | 18.0%
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| 2023 | 143,093 | 07.0%
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10,320 | 04.0%
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| Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | Change 2022–23 |
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| 1 | Aberdeen | 42,821 | 5.0%
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| 2 | Edinburgh | 38,277 | 16.0%
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| 3 | Glasgow | 17,340 | 10.0%
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| 4 | Sumburgh | 6,171 | 20.0%
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| 5 | North Ronaldsay | 5,903 | 7.0%
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| 6 | Inverness | 5,251 | 9.0%
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| 7 | Westray | 4,891 | 2.0%
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| 8 | Papa Westray | 4,595 | 16.3%
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| 9 | Sanday | 3,211 | 7.0%
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| 10 | Stronsay | 3,033 | 1.0%
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| 11 | Heathrow | 2,600 |
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| 12 | Eday | 523 | 73.0%
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| 13 | London City | 231 |
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| 14 | Dundee | 209 |
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Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water was well under way in late 2020 in Orkney, where clean energy sources (wind, waves, tides) were generating excess electricity that could be used to produce hydrogen gas (H2).[23] A plan was under way at Kirkwall Airport to add a hydrogen combustion engine system to the heating system in order to reduce the significant emissions that were created with older technology that heated buildings and water. This was part of the plan formulated by the Scottish government for the Highlands and Islands "to become the world's first net zero aviation region by 2040".[24]
The airport is notable for the signage on the terminal roof written in runes. The symbols spell the word 'Krimsitir' or 'Grimsetter'[25][better source needed] , the name of the bay next to which the airfield is located, which was similarly the name of the former RAF base.
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