World Airport Codes
Scatsta Airport (SCS)
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Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (GB) Medium airport
Runway Data
| Runway | Length (feet) | Width (feet) | Surface Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4,462 | 102 | ASP |
Frequency Data
| Type | Description | Frequency (MHz) |
|---|---|---|
| APP | APP | 123.6 |
| TWR | TWR | 123.6 |
Gallery and Facts
Gallery (1)
Reviews
Scatsta Airport Reviews (8)
Pretty Poor
Disgrace
I have travelled through this airport for the last two years and I have to say it is the worst airport I have ever been to for organisation. The excuses they give are terrible: they say not enough wind, too much wind, too cold, too warm.
Helpful Staff
I fly through this airport regularly for business. I have found the staff to be very helpful and that there are no more delays than any other airport. However, when there is a delay the place is full of whining roughnecks like Aiden and Andrew. It is my understanding that they try not to keep the planes there overnight as there are no hangars, but I do stand to be corrected on that one. The nearest hotel is 5 minutes away at Brae and is OK, or there is Busta where I stay which is first class.
Re Northbound Delays
Aiden Karley’s comments are typical of the usual whining that comes from an ignorant Bear. Firstly the Fixedwing operators always try to avoid overnighting at Scatsta as there are no hangar facilities. Secondly there has NEVER been an instance of a fixedwing going tech due to gravel on the runway,which is inspected before every fixedwing movement. Thirdly the nearest hotel is five minutes away and the furthest away used is 40 mins and lastly most of the Bears travelling Northbound pay no attention to the safety briefing and couldn’t find the doors in an emergency without being lead by the hand. Oh and no other airport ever has delays for weather?
Awful For Delays - Northbound.
I can’t agree with Andrew Ainsley more (do I know that name? I think I do. Ninians?) – delays northbound are extremely common. I’ve been flying in and out of there for over 10 years now – since the oil operations moved from Baltasound to SCS – and I’m pretty sure that Baltasound was more reliable. Southbound isn’t so bad – if the fixed-wings can get in, they can generally get out again (unless they go technical with the gravel off the runway). But if the fixed wings can’t get in, then people can’t leave the rigs because there’s almost no hotel accommodation within several hours drive. (Again, Baltasound had more flexibility in that regard.) Kees obviously flies in there regularly too. 4 seasons in one landing isn’t a joke. I haven’t reached the point of getting religion and chewing a rosary when flying in there, but I’m always paying full attention during every landing and I’ve always chosen my seat for proximity to the escapes. It’s made better by knowing that there are negligible civilians on the flights up there, so I can be confident of the training (and emergency responses) of almost all the other passengers. We lost 2 days of flying this week to Scatsta weather. Nothing wrong with the helicopters – the fixed-wings couldn’t get in. It’s Thursday today, and we don’t get a Wednesday flight normally.
Delays
I work offshore and fly through this airport on a regular basis. I have not used it yet whether it be fixed wing or by chopper and not had some sort of delay, too much wind, not enough wind, low cloud, water, the list is endless. It’s a disgrace.
Visitor February 16th 2006
By kind invitation from Bristow, we – a group from Norwegian Commuter Carrier Widerøe – paid a visit to Scatsta. Together we have years of experience from heli/fixed-wing operations ranging from S-61 helicopters to Airbus A-3330s (even improvised UN-ops in FYR) : The precision, co-ordination, smoothness and swift actions of all personell was most impressive !! We learned alot during the few hours we spent at Scatsta – hoping to bring back some of the lessons learnt !
Final Approach Scatsta
This is how final approach looks like for 24 Be aware of terrain, GPWS is very sensitive here. Behind the papis there is a touchdown indicator, if you do not land before that, a G/A is required! Check your MLAW before landing. a few degrees in wind variation might prefer 06. Always check wind on finals. Dreadfull place, 4 seasons in a flight, no trees (they get blown off) and a lot of rain and cold. We take oil workers from Aberdeen to Scatsta and back. From Scatsta they disappear with helicopters in the north sea for 2 weeks.
This airport does have more delays than your average for the simple reason it has one run way therefore crosswinds become a issue. It’s so simple that only an idiot would fail to notice this issue. The hotels are not hours away but neither are they five minutes away. The bears as you say might seem to not be paying attention yet this briefing is watched by them every time they fly usually at least twice a month it does sink in after a while. The staff at the airport can be helpful they can also be equally useless its the same everywhere you go with a mix of good and bad. Lets not forget if it wasn’t for the whining roughnecks, because everyone offshore does the same job, Scatsta would not be in operation.