Scotland's 'space shuttle' runway revamped

The surface of Campbeltown Airport's runway is being replaced

A section of one of Europe's longest runways is undergoing a £4m upgrade.

Machrihanish's 3,049m (10,003ft) long runway was built in the 1960s on a former wartime air base and was used by the RAF and Nato air forces until 1997.

During Nasa's space shuttle era, the airstrip - three miles (5km) from Campbeltown - was certified as an emergency landing site for the spacecraft. The shuttle programme ran from 1981 to 2011.

In recent years, there have been proposals to create a spaceport at the airport for space tourism and satellite launches.

A section of the runway used by Campbeltown Airport is being upgraded.

The airport and runway forms part of 1,000 acres (405ha) of land that is in community ownership.

Machrihanish Airbase Community Company bought the former air base from the Ministry of Defence in 2012.

The revamp started in early October

Scottish government-owned Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial) operates the civilian airport.

The runway surface had been deteriorating and is being refurbished.

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Work started on 4 October and has involved the removal of 10,000 tonnes of asphalt. The new surface is expected to be completed later this month.

Hial said the project was progressing well, though bad weather had hampered some of the work.

All images copyright of Hial.