The first airplane landed on Pictou Island in October 1930 according to the October 10th, 1930 edition of 'The Pictou Advocate'.

"A CF-APM from Atlantic Airways, St. John, landed the first plane on this Island. The pilot took interested people up for a ride - at $5.00 per head."

A plane replaced the steam ships in the early 1940s. People were amazed that their usual trip across the treacherous Northumberland Strait could be done in such little time.

The main one road on Pictou Island was used for the runway.

The service was provided to the Islanders every Tuesday and Friday, except for emergencies.

In 1934, Charlie Turple ran the ferry service with his boat - Dot. His bad luck started with losing Dot in a storm, and continued with The Dinty, and finally the Jennie R., which he had named after his wife.

Following Charlie's bad luck, Ernest Rankin had a boat built by Stright MacKay Ltd. in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1949. He ran The Pictou Island, until it ran ashore in 1967.

Finally, in 1968 Charles MacMillan ran the Pictou Island ferry the Vera III until 1984. Charles employed his own people to build the boat for him and it paid up for him in the end as he ran it for almost twenty years.