Finistair airline

Created in 1981, the company's first objective was to provide a public transport air link between the mainland and the island of Ouessant to ensure territorial continuity.

Since March 2020, it has been part of the W3 Group and is expanding its services to include flights to Belle-île-en-Mer and first flights. From Brest, it offers on-demand services to the islands of Brittany and the Channel Islands, Ile d'Yeu, Quiberon, La Rochelle, Cherbourg and many other destinations.

Brest <> Ouessant: A public service mission

As part of a Public Service Delegation, Finistair provides the link between Brest and the island of Ouessant, the main purpose of which is to open up the island, in addition to the maritime service.

Finistair carries 4,000 passengers a year, enabling them to reach Ouessant in a 15-minute flight:

2 return flights per day from Monday to Friday and 1 return flight on Saturday morning.
Flight time: 15 minutes
5,000 passengers on average per year, 50% of whom are islanders
60 tonnes of freight, including 25 tonnes of mail

History of the line

On 13 July 1955, the first commercial air link between Brest-Guipavas and Ouessant took place, thanks to the Compagnie bretonne aéronautique (Cobra).

A year earlier, the very first landing had taken place on the island of Ouessant (on 30 June 1954), thanks to the initiative of pilots from the flying club who had spotted a field among the sheep: a strip 350 m long and 15 m wide.

A fortnight later, the undeniable usefulness of this link was illustrated by the emergency medical evacuation of a woman from Ushant.

From then on, pilots from Brest were called in on request, but in the absence of a runway worthy of the name and of subsidies, the service was provided on an irregular basis.

It wasn't until January 1982 and the creation of Finistair that the service was made permanent.

Télécharger l'article complet de l'histoire de la ligne au format PDF.
(source Le Telegramme de Brest 11/07/2005)