Those jetting off on holiday often have two priorities when they land:

pick up their bags and hit the beach.

But for passengers arriving at Barra, that process has long been simplified. Baggage reclaim, like the landing strip itself, is already on the beach. That's not the advantage it seems, though, when the building is scattered in bits across the sands.

The tiny baggage reclaim area is much photographed, but for those who have not seen it, it looks much like an urban bus shelter. Yet its exposed situation and the island storms have so far seen one structure torn apart and distributed along the shore, and a second has had its roof ripped off.

"Computer says no," intoned the manufacturer sternly in response to queries about the warranty.

The one advantage is that the problems have highlighted the excellent record of the airstrip in handling baggage. Not a single item lost through human error in 78 years.

A patching together by local staff has rectified the problem for now. It is to be hoped a permanent solution can be found - for the sake of that proud record and to ensure new arrivals don't have to add "beachcombing" to their day-one activities.