Glasgow Airport - Facts, Figures and History

Glasgow Airport is operated by BAA and is officially the busiest airport in Scotland flying over 7.2 million passesngers each year. It is located just 8 miles west of Glasgow city centre.

Glasgow Airport Quick Facts

• Number of passengers : 7.2 million
• Number of flight destinations : 80+
• Number of airlines operating: 40+
• Number of terminals : 1
• Number of runways: 2

Glasgow Airport History Timeline

• 1960 - An announcement was made that a new airport for Glasgow was to be built at Abbotsinch to replace Renfrew RAF base.
• 1963 - The Royal Navy withdrew as work went on to build the new airport.
• 1966 - Glasgow Abbotsinch Airport was officially opened for business at 8 am on May 2nd. By December the airport recorded it's 1 millionth passenger.
• 1973 - The main runway was extended from 6,720 ft to 8,720 ft to cater for larger jets.
• 1975 - The owners Glasgow Corporation sold the airport to current operators BAA.
• 1976 - Work began on a £2 million extension of the terminal to bring capacity up to 3.5 million passengers a year.
• 1987 - An expansion of the apron area began.
• 1989 - A £55 million extension program was announced to increase the terminal size by 70% and cater for up to 3 million passengers.
• 1989 - March 6 saw the announcement of the lifting of Prestwick Airports monopoly on transatlantic flights.
• 1994 - Building work was completed and international traffic moved to the new pier with 7 air bridges capable of handling any type of aircraft. This allowed airlines to choose which airport they fly to North America from. As as direct result of this many major airlines switched to Glasgow including Air Canada, Northwest Orient, American Airlines, British Airways and Canadian charter airlines.
• 2002 - The boom of low cost operators on domestic routes continues to drive passengers numbers upwards.