Stornoway Airport gets new rock armour

A multi-million-pound project to protect Stornoway Airport on the Isle of Lewis from coastal erosion is now complete, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) said.

Duncan C M Smith, HIAL General Manager West working at Stornoway Airport, said: “We are extremely pleased that these works have been completed and which will be of massive benefit to the long-term future of Stornoway Airport and to the coastal defences of the Western Isles.”

“When we noticed that coastal erosion was becoming a significant issue on the north-east quartile of the beach next to the airport, plans were swiftly put in place to restore the coastal defences and maintain airport infrastructure which would all have been at risk if the work had not been carried out.”

According to HIAL, the completed £5.3 million project consists of a ‘mattress’ of almost 22,000 tonnes of stone being created beneath the beach, with 2,081 baskets filled with stone built on top to reinforce the beach and stop the sea from eroding the land.

In addition to this, a further 14,058 tonnes of rock armour stone was positioned on the headland at the end of the runway.