A Scottish airline is to retire its fleet of aircraft that has served travellers for more than two decades.

Fans of the Loganair Saab 340 fleet, a favourite on social media feeds, snapped up all the tickets for the final farewell flights in January in just a few hours.

"Having completed over 430,000 flights and carried more than eight million passengers, the Saab 340 holds a special place in Loganair's heritage," Loganair said.

"To commemorate this extraordinary record of service, we’re throwing open the hangar doors to say farewell to the Saab 340s – with the opportunity to fly on a specially-arranged flight aboard the Saab 340s on their final weekend in service or tour our Glasgow Hangar for a last chance to see the aircraft before it leaves our fleet."

The Gazette: The new ATR delivers a reduction of up to 27% in carbon emissionsThe new ATR delivers a reduction of up to 27% in carbon emissions (Image: Loganair)

It said it is "celebrating the legacy of the Saab 340 as we bid a fond farewell to the trusty aircraft that has formed the backbone of Loganair’s fleet for over 24 years".

Circuit flights are operating from Glasgow Airport are flying passengers on a 45-minute west coast tour, on two days.

The airline is offloading the Saab aircraft through a £10 million sale agreement.

Loganair said the additional ATR turboprops will bring a reduction of up to 27% in carbon emissions.

Glasgow-based Loganair has been replacing eight Saab 340s aircraft with Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR's turboprops in recent months.

Both the flights and hangar tours were sold out on the same day they were put on release.

The events attracted attention on social media, with one flyer saying: "I really hope I will be able to be part of this sad day.

"I love the Saab 340 so much and it’s a dream of mine to fly one. Hopefully I will be able to come."

One fan said on X, formerly Twitter: "Love flying on the Saabs from Orkney. Always seen it as if I'm flying on a private jet."

Another said: "It's been a bucket list item for a very long time to fly on one of these planes again. Just booked my tickets from Switzerland to Glasgow - and one of the farewell flight tickets. Can't wait."

The airline operates 42 aircraft on 70 routes.