Union Island Airport
The foot of the chain
Union Island is reached from Argyle on the mainland by the short-haul aircraft that work the island chain.
From Argyle
68 km 37 nm
Runways across the network
St. Vincent SVD
2,743m 9,000 ft
Canouan CIW
1,791m 5,880 ft
Bequia BQU
1,100m 3,610 ft
Union Island UNI
752m 2,470 ft
Over the hill, and down
Union Island’s strip runs 752 metres between rising ground and the sea at Clifton. It is one of the more demanding arrivals in the Eastern Caribbean, flown only by turboprop and short-field aircraft and only in daylight.
Flying the approach
From the west
Aircraft cross the ridge and descend steeply toward the threshold — the manoeuvre local crews call “over the hill and dive”.
Approach slope
The western approach falls at roughly twenty per cent, far steeper than a standard three-degree glidepath.
Margins
Hills sit close on one side and open water at the runway end, leaving little room for a long or shallow arrival.
Daylight only
The runway is unlit, so there are no departures after dusk. Schedules are built around the light.
The doorstep of the Tobago Cays
Union Island is the closest airstrip to the Tobago Cays Marine Park — five uninhabited islands set inside a 1,400-acre lagoon, sheltered behind the great curve of Horseshoe Reef. The water is shallow, sand-bottomed and clear, and green turtles graze the sea grass in the lee of the cays.
The five cays
- Petit Rameau
- Petit Bateau
- Baradal
- Petit Tobac
- Jamesby
Aerodrome data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA / ICAO | UNI / TVSU |
| Runway | 08 / 26 · asphalt |
| Runway length | 752 m — 2,467 ft |
| Runway width | 18 m — 59 ft |
| Elevation | 4.3 m — 14 ft |
| Coordinates | 12°35′55″N 61°24′53″W |
| Opened | 1994 |
| Operations | Turboprop & STOL · daylight only |