St Mary's (ISC): Island Transfers meets the plane and the fare is fixed
The airport sits above Hugh Town on St Mary's. Island Transfers drivers wait for arrivals and charge a flat six pounds single to anywhere on the island, which removes the usual small-airport taxi problem.
- Island Transfers drivers meet arrivals at the airport and will take you anywhere on St Mary's.
- Adult single 6 pounds, adult return 12 pounds. Child single 3.50 pounds, child return 7 pounds.
- That is the whole ground transport answer on the island. There is no airport bus and the island is small enough not to need one.
- The airport is one of the smallest in the UK and Skybus describes it as having the essentials and nothing more.
- Three routes serve it all year: Land's End 20 minutes, Newquay 30 minutes, Exeter one hour.
- All of them fly the 19 seat DHC-6 Twin Otter.
- Security screening applies. Liquids over 100 ml are not allowed through, laptops and large electronics come out of the bag, and knives and scissors are confiscated.
- Skybus warns that screening can cause delays and asks you to arrive early. It is a small hall, not a fast one.
- Hold allowance is two pieces and 15 kg per passenger, cabin baggage one bag of 3 kg.
- Report damaged luggage before you leave the reclaim area. A claim must follow within seven days.
- Scuffs, dents, handles, wheels and missing zip pulls are excluded from damage claims, as are protruding parts of a case.
- Weather rules everything here. Check the Skybus service status page before setting off in either direction.
Arriving
- Island Transfers meets flights at the airport. Their drivers take passengers to anywhere on St Mary's, and the fare is published rather than metered.
- Six pounds adult single, twelve pounds return; three pounds fifty child single, seven pounds return. That is the whole tariff.
- The airport sits on the high ground above Hugh Town, which is where most accommodation and the quay for the off-island boats are. It is a short drive, and a long enough walk with luggage that most people take the transfer.
The routes in and out
- Land's End, 20 minutes, all year, dogs allowed. The quickest and the oldest of the three.
- Newquay, 30 minutes, all year, dogs allowed, with public transport, taxis, car hire and onward air connections at the Cornwall end.
- Exeter, one hour, all year, and the one route where dogs are not carried.
- Every flight is a 19 seat DHC-6 Twin Otter, so the aircraft is small, the weather matters, and the load matters.
Security and luggage
- Unlike the Hebridean island strips, St Mary's screens hand luggage. The 100 ml liquid rule applies, laptops and large electronics come out, and bladed items are taken off you.
- Skybus's own advice is to arrive early because screening can cause delays.
- Two hold pieces, 15 kg combined per passenger, one 3 kg cabin bag at 30 x 15 x 15 cm.
- If a bag arrives damaged, say so before you leave the reclaim area and claim within seven days with the bar-coded baggage sticker, proof of purchase and photographs.
- Do not expect a claim to succeed for cosmetic scuffs, dents, wear, handles, wheels or missing zip locks, or for protruding parts of the case. Those exclusions are published.
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