The four giant helicopters that landed at Land’s End

Four Chinooks, twin rotors turning, engines still hot, all sitting together on a runway that normally hosts sixteen-seat planes to St Mary’s. That was the scene at the western tip of Cornwall this afternoon, and the man who runs the airport says he doesn’t expect to see anything like it again.

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel

A rare sight for one of Britain’s smallest airports

Four US Army Chinook helicopters landed at Land’s End Airport this afternoon to refuel, a sight the airport has never had before. Isles of Scilly Travel shared the moment on social media, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime sight” at one of the UK’s smallest commercial airports.

It is an unusual contrast. Land’s End Airport is used to connecting Cornwall with the Isles of Scilly, and its runway is more familiar with the sixteen-seater Twin Otter aircraft flown by Skybus than a formation of enormous twin-rotor military helicopters. Four of them, engines running, dwarfed everything else on the apron.

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel

“I can’t imagine it will happen again”

Chris Pearson, Manager of Land’s End Airport, said it was a genuine privilege to host the visit. “It’s not every day you see one Chinook at Land’s End Airport, let alone four. It was a real privilege to welcome them here today.

“These are enormous helicopters, and seeing four arriving together at our airport at the very western tip of Cornwall was an incredible sight. It’s never happened before and I can’t imagine it will happen again.

“The visit highlights the unique versatility of Land’s End Airport. We may be small, but we can certainly hold our own alongside much larger airports. We play a hugely important role in connecting Cornwall with the Isles of Scilly.”

Chris added that passengers travelling through the airport often comment on the experience itself, from the timber-framed terminal building to the log burner inside, saying their holiday feels like it has started the moment they arrive.

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel

A long history at the western tip of Cornwall

There has been an airport at Land’s End since June 1937, when site preparation for a new aerodrome was completed. Landing rights between Penzance and St Mary’s were secured by Cobham Air Services, and the original aerodrome, a field near Kelynack, had a 2,100ft runway, a 4,000 sq ft hangar, a booking office, a fuel store and basic servicing facilities.

The airport, owned and operated by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, has been the home of Skybus since the 1980s. In April 2021, the fifteen-minute flight between Land’s End and the Isles of Scilly was named the UK’s busiest flight route, busier even than the route between London Heathrow and New York JFK. The following month, the airport was designated a regional hub for the G7 Summit held nearby at Carbis Bay.

None of that history involved four Chinooks landing together. “It’s never happened before,” Chris said, “and I can’t imagine it will happen again.”

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel

📷Credit: Isles of Scilly Travel