| Glasgow
Airport Parking - Airport History
Please find below a brief history of Glasgow Airport which we
hope that you will find useful. If you wish to make a booking
then please click on the appropriate link on your left. Alternativly
you can call our office, where one of our helpful staff will
only be happy to help.
Glasgow Airport is the busiest of Scotland's three main international
airports. Today's travelling public expects more, so at Glasgow they have
invested heavily in brand new Shopping and eating facilities. Works commenced
in July 2002 and are expected to be complete by April 2003. It was thought
that the story of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport began around
1934. However, historians have now discovered evidence that aircraft were
on or near the site around 1913, a mere 10 years after the Wright Brothers
first took to the air.
The pioneer, David McIntyre, set up Scottish Aviation Ltd in 1935 and
acquired 348 acres of Ayrshire countryside. By the end of that year, accommodation
had been developed including a hanger, offices, lecture rooms and a small
control tower.
Number of terminals : 1
Number of passengers : 7.3 million
Number of airlines : over 40
Number of destinations : approximately 80
Number of runways : 2
As World War II intervened, the site developed into a major airport mainly
used for the delivery of American aircraft under the lend lease programme,
and it was at this time, training gave way to aircraft production undertaken
by Scottish Aviation Ltd.
The original factory was expanded out of all recognition when in 1941,
the Palace of Engineering, built in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow (for the
1938 Empire Exhibition) was taken down and rebuilt brick by brick at Prestwick.
This magnificent building, an excellent example of Art Deco architecture
survives today under the ownership of BAe Systems and can be seen on the
North side of the airport directly opposite the terminal.
In 1958 the Government in an attempt to maintain the airports place at
the forefront of modern aviation, announced plans for a new terminal building,
freight building, runway extension, control tower and loop road around
the airport. By April 1962 the new control tower had been built and in
September 1964, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, officially opened the
present terminal building.The foresight in 1964 of the airport architects
and planners in designing a facility capable of handling millions of passengers
a year now looks certain to be justified.
|
