Wick (WIC): the terminal is shut on Saturdays and the hours change every day
Wick publishes a different opening time for almost every day of the week and no opening time at all for Saturday. Parking is free, and the railway station is a 25 minute walk.
- The terminal is closed on Saturday. HIAL publishes no Saturday hours for either the terminal or the service building.
- Monday to Thursday the terminal is open 06:30 to 17:15. That is the only long day of the week.
- Friday it opens 14:00 to 16:30 and Sunday 16:00 to 18:00. Two and a half hours, then two hours.
- Do not turn up outside those windows expecting shelter. This is a single small building, not a 24 hour airport.
- The airport is one mile north of Wick, postcode KW1 4QP, at the north-eastern extremity of the Scottish mainland.
- Wick railway station is about a 25 minute walk from the airport. There is no rail link into the terminal.
- Stagecoach runs buses to Wick town centre and to Thurso. Those are ordinary local services, not an airport shuttle.
- Five taxi firms serve the airport and all of them want advance booking: Hugh's Taxis 01955 603399, Jimmy's Taxis 01955 602727, Miller Taxis 01955 606464, TTG Private Hire 07983 375227, Woody's Private Hire 07591 12006.
- Short stay and long stay parking are free, for all vehicles, a short walk from the terminal.
- Dropping off or collecting is free too, in the same car park. There is an overspill car park by the airport road entrance.
- Accessible and Blue Badge bays are at the car park entrance, within easy reach of the terminal.
- For weather disruption, HIAL points you at the airport Facebook page or your airline, not at a status board.
The opening hours are the trap
- Wick is the airport at the top of the British mainland, and it keeps hours that match a handful of daily flights rather than a working day.
- HIAL's own table gives the terminal as open 06:30 to 17:15 Monday to Thursday, 14:00 to 16:30 on Friday, and 16:00 to 18:00 on Sunday. There is no Saturday row at all.
- The service building behind it keeps different hours again: 07:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday, 14:30 to 16:30 Friday, closed Saturday, 15:30 to 18:00 Sunday and "by arrangement".
- The practical consequence: if your plan involves arriving early to wait somewhere warm, check the day of the week first. On a Friday morning the building is not open.
Getting between the airport and the town
- The airport is one mile north of Wick. That is walkable in good weather and unpleasant in Caithness weather.
- Wick railway station is roughly a 25 minute walk from the terminal, on HIAL's own estimate. The Far North Line from Inverness terminates there.
- Stagecoach buses serve Wick town centre and Thurso. They are scheduled local services, so check the timetable against your flight rather than assuming a connection.
- Taxis have to be booked ahead. HIAL lists five operators and says to contact them in advance. In a town this size there is no rank waiting on spec for an aircraft.
Parking
- Free. Short stay, long stay, and the overspill car park by the road entrance, for all vehicles.
- Drop off and pick up use the same car park and are also free, so there is no reason to stop on the access road.
- Blue Badge and accessible bays sit at the car park entrance, closest to the terminal door.
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