Glasgow Airport, also known asGlasgow International Airport (IATA:GLA,ICAO:EGPF), and formerlyAbbotsinch Airport, is aninternational airport located inPaisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 8.6nautical miles (15.9 km; 9.9 mi) west ofGlasgow city centre. In 2024 it handled 8.06million passengers, a 9.6 per cent annual increase, making it the second-busiest in Scotland, afterEdinburgh Airport, and the ninth-busiest in the United Kingdom.
It was opened in 1966 and originally flights only operated to other places in the UK and Europe. It began to offer flights to elsewhere — flights that previously usedGlasgow Prestwick Airport, which was subsequently relegated as the city's secondary airport catering forRyanair and freight operators.
In 1940 atorpedo training unit was formed, which trained bothRoyal Air Force andRoyal Navy crews underRAF Coastal Command.[5] The Admiralty was granted a lodger facility for a RN Air Section at Royal Air Force Abbotsinch from 19 June 1940. The airbase was transferred from No. 19 Group RAF to the Admiralty on 11 August 1943, known as Royal Naval Air Station Abbotsinch, (or RNAS Abbotsinch). Its primary function was an Aircraft Maintenance Yard and Reserve Aircraft Storage and Salvage. On 20 September it was commissioned HMSSanderling.[6] During the 1950s the airfield housed a large aircraft storage unit and squadrons of theRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
The Royal Navy left in October 1963.[5] The nameSanderling was, however, retained as a link between the two: HMSSanderling'sship's bell was presented to the new airport and a bar in the airport was namedThe Sanderling Bar.
The following squadrons were based at Glasgow Airport at some point:[7]
In the 1960sGlasgow Corporation decided that a new airport for the city was required. The original site of Glasgow's main airport,Renfrew Airport, was 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the current airport, in what is now the Dean Park area of Renfrew. The originalArt Deco terminal building of the original airport has not survived. The site is now occupied by aTesco supermarket and theM8 motorway; this straight and level section of motorway occupies the site of therunway.[19]
The first commercial flight to arrive was a British European Airways flight from Edinburgh, landing at 8am on 2 May 1966.[20] The airport was officially opened on 27 June 1966 byQueen Elizabeth II. The political rows over Glasgow andPrestwick airports continued, with Prestwick enjoying a monopoly overtransatlantic traffic (under the 1946 US-UKair transport agreement known as theBermuda Agreement), while Glasgow Airport was only allowed to handle UK and intra-European traffic.
In 1975 the BAA took ownership of Glasgow Airport.[21] When BAA wasprivatised in the late 1980s, as BAA plc, it consolidated its airport portfolio and sold Prestwick Airport. BAA embarked on a massive redevelopment plan for Glasgow Airport in 1989.[22]
In the early 1990s Glasgow became the first UK airport, and one of the first in Europe (after Israel) to screen all baggage. Until this time, only 'high-risk' flights had their hand luggage and hold luggage checked. This was a result of the bombing ofPan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 over the Scottish town ofLockerbie.
An extended terminal building was created by building a pre-fabricated metal structure around the front of the original Basil Spence building, hence screening much of its distinctiveBrutalist style architecture from view, with the void between the two structures joined by a glass atrium and walkway. Spence's original concrete facade which once looked onto Caledonia Road now fronts thecheck-in desks. The original building can be seen more clearly from the rear, with the mock barrel-vaulted roof visible when airside.
A dedicated international departure lounge and pier were added at the western side of the building, leaving the facility with a total of 38gates, bringing its capacity up to nine million passengers per year.[23] In 2003 BAA completed redevelopment work on a satellite building (called "T2", formerly the St Andrews Building), to provide a dedicated check-in facility for low-cost airlines, principallyJet2.com.
By 1996 Glasgow was handling over 5.5million passengers per year, making it the fourth-busiest in the UK.[24]
It serves a variety of destinations throughout Canada, Europe and the Middle East. The terminal consists of three piers; the West Pier, Central Pier and East Pier. The West Pier, commonly known as the International Pier, was built as part of the 1989 extension project and is the principal international and long haul departure point. All but two of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. This pier has stands 27 - 36.[25] In 2019, the pier received the ability to facilitate theAirbus A380 following an £8million upgrade.[26]
The Central Pier is part of the original 1966 building. The main user of the pier isBritish Airways, who tend to use the majority of its gates, with London shuttles (toHeathrow,Gatwick andLondon City) making up almost all its traffic. TheBritish Airways lounge is located on this pier, across from gate 15.Aer Lingus,Loganair,Jet2.com andTUI Airways also operate from the central pier. Most of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. This pier has stands 14–26.[25] The now defunct airlinesFlybe andBritish Midland (bmi) were once major users of the Central Pier.
The East Pier, constructed in the mid-1970s, was originally used for international flights but in recent years has been re-developed for use by low-cost airlines. None of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. The main users of this pier areeasyJet andLoganair. In 2015, a £3million extension was added to the pier, creating space for 750,000 extra passengers a year. This pier has stands 1–12.[25]
In late 2007[27] work commenced on Skyhub (located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2)[28] which created a single, purpose-built security screening area in place of the previous individual facilities for each of the three piers, the other side effect being an enlarged duty-free shopping area created by taking most of the previous landside shopping and restaurant facilities airside. This new arrangement also frees up space in the departure lounges through the removal of the separate duty-free shops in the West and Central Piers. This however meant that the former public viewing areas of the apron are now airside, making the airport inaccessible to aviation enthusiasts and spectators.
Future growth is hampered by the airport's location, which is constrained by theM8 motorway to the south, the town ofRenfrew to the east and theRiver Clyde to the north. At present the areas ofDrumchapel,Clydebank,Bearsden,Foxbar,Faifley andLinwood all sit directly underneath the approach paths into the airport, meaning that further increases in traffic may be politically sensitive. The airport is challenged byEdinburgh Airport, which now serves a wider range of European destinations and has grown to overtake Glasgow as Scotland's busiest airport. TheScottish Government announced in 2002 that a rail line – known as theGlasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) – would be built fromGlasgow Central station to Glasgow Airport. The rail link was to be completed by 2012 with the first trains running early in 2013. In 2009, however, it was announced by the Scottish Government that the plan had been cancelled.[29]
Currently, the airport is easily accessible by road due with direct access to the adjoining M8 motorway. It is also served by a frequent bus service, theGlasgow Airport Express, which operates services to thecity centre. The service is run byFirst Glasgow and all buses feature leather seats, USB charging ports and free WiFi. The airport is home to the Scottishregional airlineLoganair, previously aFlybe franchise operator, who have their head office located on site.[30]British Airways has a maintenancehangar at the airport, capable of carrying out overhaul work onAirbus A320, as well as a cargo facility. The RAF also has a unit based within the airport – TheUniversities of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron – to provide flying training to university students who plan to join the RAF.
In 2007 Glasgow became the second-busiest airport in Scotland as passenger numbers were surpassed by those atEdinburgh Airport.
On 30 June 2007, a day after thefailed car bomb attacks in London, anattack at Glasgow International Airport occurred. A flamingJeep Cherokee was driven into the entrance of Main Terminal. Two men, one alight, fled the vehicle before being apprehended by a group of police officers, airport security officers and witnesses. One of the men died in the following months due to his injuries. New barriers and security measures have since been added.[31]
On 10 April 2014 the airlineEmirates operated anAirbus A380 to Glasgow to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Glasgow–Dubai route, and was the first time an A380 had visited a Scottish airport.[32]
In July 2014 Emirates opened a dedicated lounge at the airport[33] for First and Business class passengers. It is located at the top of the West Pier. In October 2014 Heathrow Airport Holdings reached an agreement to sell the airport, together with Southampton and Aberdeen, to a consortium of Ferrovial andMacquarie Group for £1billion.[34]
In 2017easyJet became the first airline to carry more than one million passengers from the airport in a period of 12 months.[35]
TheScottish Air Ambulance Services (SAS) contract involves the provision of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in addition to the coordination and operational management of all flights.[103]This long-term contract resulted in the company investing in the development of new infrastructure at the airport, with the creation of theScottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) facility.[104]
The Glasgow Airport Investment Area is a £39.1million project to administer infrastructure and environmental improvements in the surrounding airport area to facilitate the development of a world-class business and commercial hub in the heart ofRenfrewshire.[105]
There are plans for a new bridge connecting Paisley town centre andGilmour Street Station with the airport as part of the larger £59million AMIDS South project. The bridge is planned to be operational by 2028.[106]
In 2005 BAA published a consultation paper[107] for the development of the airport. The consultation paper included proposals for a second runway parallel to and to the north-west of the existing runway 05/23; redevelopment and enlargement of the East (low-cost) pier to connect directly with Terminal 2; and an additional International Pier to the west of the existing International Pier. There were plans for a new rail terminal, joined to the airport's passenger terminal andMultistorey car park. On 29 November 2006 theScottish Parliament gave the go-ahead for the new railway station as part of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link to Glasgow Central station, originally due for completion in 2011. However, on 17 September 2009 the rail link was cancelled as part of public spending cuts and escalating costs.[108][109][110][111]
BAA's plans, which are expected to cost some £290million over the next 25 years, come in response to a forecasted trebling of annual passenger numbers passing through the airport by 2030. The current figure of 9.4million passengers passing through the airport is expected to rise to more than 24million by 2030.
As of late 2017, there are plans to build a light rail link that will connect the city centre to the airport viaGovan, with plans already underway to begin construction of the project after the cancellation of the originalGlasgow Airport Rail Link project.[112] Since then this plan has been implemented into the lager Clyde Metro project.
On 23 March 2025,AviAlliance announced that it would be investing £350million acrossAGS Airports, with the majority being invested in Glasgow Airport. Plans include work to enable arriving aircraft to be turned around faster, expanding the airside part of the terminal beyond security to add more shops and places to eat and drink, the west end of the check-in hall to be expanded, along with the T2 check in area at the east end of the building. The three piers of aircraft boarding gates will be overhauled for the first time in 30 years. This work was due to commence in 2030, will now start in 2025 and is scheduled to be completed by 2027.[113][114]
Plans for a rail link from the airport toGlasgow Central railway station were proposed in the 2000s, shelved in 2009 and then resurrected in December 2016;[update] though progress towards the proposal has yet to come to fruition. In recent years a Larger scale plan known asClyde Metro, currently in the planning stages aims to create a new metro system for theGlasgow city region which includes a link to the airport, the plan previously being proposed and led byTransport Scotland is now being developed byStrathclyde Partnership for Transport and is currently in the case for investment stage.[115]
A Norwegian Arado Ar 196A crashed near Glasgow in April 1940.[citation needed]
On 3 September 1999, aCessna 404 carrying nineAirtours staff from Glasgow toAberdeen on a transfer flight,crashed minutes after takeoff near the town of Linwood, Renfrewshire. Eight people were killed and three seriously injured. No one on the ground was hurt.[118] TheAir Accident Investigation Branch determined the aircraft had developed an engine malfunction during takeoff. Although the captain decided to return to the airfield, he mistakenly identified the working engine as the faulty one and shut it down, causing the aircraft to crash.[119] Afatal accident inquiry was also held,[118] which reached the same conclusion.[120]
On 30 June 2007, a group of extremistsattacked the airport by ramming aJeep Cherokee into the entrance of the main terminal which set the car on fire. There was some damage to the airport. One of the perpetrators died in hospital and the others were jailed.[121]
In August 2019, two drunken United Airlines pilots tried to fly a plane but were stopped by local authorities. They were arrested for being drunk. The plane was to leave for New York City.[122]
Glasgow Airport is the only airport in Scotland with direct motorway access, being right next to theM8 motorway providing easy access to theUK motorway network.
The closest railway station to the airport isPaisley Gilmour Street station with easy access for walking and cycling as well as a bus service 757 operated by McGill’s from the terminal to the station.[126]
^"Statutory Information".Loganair. Archived fromthe original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved20 May 2009.Registered Office: St. Andrews Drive, Glasgow Airport PAISLEY Renfrewshire PA3 2TG
^"Ministers scrap airport rail plan".BBC News Online. 17 September 2009. Retrieved17 September 2009.Scottish Government has scrapped the £120m Glasgow Airport Rail Link amid public spending cut concerns.
McCloskey, Keith.Glasgow's Airports: Renfrew and Abbotsinch. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press Ltd., 2009.ISBN978-0-7524-5077-3.
Smith, David J.Action Stations, Volume 7: Military airfields of Scotland, the North-East and Northern Ireland. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1983ISBN0-85059-563-0.
Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997).Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians).ISBN0-85130-252-1.
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