Only on Barra is the sound of undercarriage hitting sand welcome. The arrival of a tiny turboprop from Glasgow provides a moment of spectacle as it touches down on the beach, but it is also a lifeline service that 1,200 islanders are battling to preserve.
A political dogfight is being fought out over the air route that allows 12 passengers to hop from the mainland to the southern end of the Outer Hebridean chain every day. It is subsidised to the tune of £300,000 a year, but ensures the survival of the world's one beach runway that receives scheduled services.
For first-time visitors, arriving on the isle known as Barradise is an odd experience. First, there is the nerve-racking landing, followed by the run-up to the beach hut terminal. And for disembarking, wellies are advisable.
After more than 75 years, the islanders have grown used to the strange ritual. Being less than an hour from Glasgow has brought enormous benefits for business, tourism and those needing urgent medical treatment. An air ambulance service can fly at night by using car headlights and flexible reflective strips to illuminate the beach, but should the Glasgow link be lost that too would follow.
Travellers face the prospect of a two-and-a-half-hour journey by ferry and car across another two islands and causeways to an airport on Benbecula. Government officials in Edinburgh will study the use of new links between the islands before making a final decision on the future of the air service next year.
The end of the flight would see the beach airport sink into the sand with the 11 jobs it supports. Barra councillor Donald Manford fears the island and the aviation world will lose the route. 'Finishing off the Glasgow-Barra service would be shocking, but it seems that this is what we are being prepared for,' he said.
'The people of this island are worried and enraged as what is happening starts to sink in. The rug is about to be pulled from underneath our feet.'
The bizarre sight of inspectors checking runways in a tractor, while airport fire crews attend to stranded dolphins could be lost to the world forever, he warned. 'Sometimes you can hardly get to the airport because so many people have come to watch planes landing. People come off the ferry and head straight for the airport just to catch a glimpse of the flight.'
While there is much fuss over the construction of a new runway at Heathrow, the beach of Traigh Mhor is so large, and the take-off and landing runs of the Twin Otters aircraft so short, that there is space for three runways to be laid out. They are marked by posts that stay in place in the sand during the twice-daily washing by the tide.
Many visitors enjoy trips to the beach in the summer. Before donning their trunks, they are asked to check whether the windsock is flying or not, which lets them know if the airport is open. The owner of the Castlebay Hotel, George MacLeod, fears that the permanent disappearance off the windsock would lead to the disappearance of tourists.
'We get lots of visitors, especially from England, who come here because it is tranquil but relatively easy to get to. Who is to say they would make the extra effort to come all the way to Barra if the flight vanished? It would hurt this business and the others on the island.'
Lewis Macdonald, the Scottish Minister with responsibility for transport, maintains that the government is committed to improving transport links throughout the Highlands and Islands and said the move would 'allow us to consider the future demand for air services in light of a new, improved ferry service which is due to start by the middle of next year'.
Most of the subsidy granted to Barra is swallowed up in landing charges by Highland and Islands Air ports, a government-run body. Supporters of the flight argue that it is more viable than many other Scottish services.
Peter Brown, who owns the canteen at the airport, said it was ridiculous for the Scottish Executive to review the island route when the network was expanding elsewhere. Recent weeks have seen proposals to develop airports in Oban and Skye, while flights to Stornoway have doubled.
Brown was angry about the way Barra islanders had been informed of the air service review. Most learnt of the decision through the local press. 'To deal with us in this way knocks confidence,' he said. 'This kind of attitude can destroy security and make people think twice about coming here.'
Manford was more blunt, suggesting that the Highlands and Islands were being failed by devolution: 'It was suggested we'd be better off governed from Scotland, but there were some who thought otherwise.
'They said, "Londoners don't give a damn for Highlanders, but in Edinburgh they hate us." Perhaps they were right.'
