gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner =

AGS Airports AGS Airports Limited is the United Kingdom-based owner of Aberdeen Airport, Aberdeen, Glasgow Airport, Glasgow and Southampton Airports. The company was formed in September 2014 by Ferrovial, a Spanish firm specialising in the design, constructio ...

, hub = *

easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...

Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline based at Glasgow Airport near Paisley, Scotland. It is the largest regional airline in the UK by passenger numbers and fleet size. In addition to its main base at Glasgow, it has hubs at Aberdeen, Edinb ...

TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomsonfly and Thomson Airways) is a British charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The airline is t ...

, operator = Glasgow Airport Ltd. , city-served =

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, elevation-f = 26 , pushpin_map = Scotland Renfrewshire , pushpin_map_caption = Location of airport in Renfrewshire , website = , r1-number = 05/23 , r1-length-m = 2,665 , stat-year = 2019 , stat1-header = Passengers , stat1-data = 8,843,214 , stat2-header = Passenger change 18–19 , stat2-data = 8.4% , stat3-header = Aircraft movements , stat3-data = 86,226 , stat4-header = Movements change 17–18 , stat4-data = 3.2% , footnotes = Sources: UK AIP at NATS
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority
Location from Glasgow Airport Glasgow Airport, also known as Glasgow International Airport (), formerly ''Abbotsinch Airport'', is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is located in Paisley,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, west of

city centre. In 2019, the airport handled 8.84 million passengers, an 8.4% annual decrease, making it the second-busiest in Scotland, after

Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by t ...

, and the ninth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. The airport is owned and operated by

which also owns and operates

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

airports. It was previously owned and operated by

Heathrow Airport Holdings Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to se ...

(formerly known as BAA). The airport's largest tenants are

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

and

. Other major airlines using Glasgow as a base include

Jet2.com Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind EasyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also officia ...

and

. Glasgow Airport was opened in 1966 and originally flights only operated to other places in the United Kingdom and Europe. Glasgow Airport began to offer flights to other places around the world, flights which previously used

Glasgow Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport () is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and southwest of Glasgow. It is the less busy of the two airports serving the western part of ...

, which was subsequently relegated as the city's secondary airport catering for

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

, freight and charter operators.

History

The history of the present Glasgow Airport goes back to 1932, when the site at

Abbotsinch Abbotsinch is an area in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Scotland. It is today almost entirely occupied by Glasgow Airport. Traditionally in the parish of Renfrew (although not within its burgh boundary), Abbotsinch is bordered by the ...

, between the

Black Cart Water The River Cart ( sco, River Cairt) is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, being f ...

and the

White Cart Water The River Cart ( sco, River Cairt) is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, being f ...

, near Paisley in Renfrewshire, was opened. In 1933 the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

602 Squadron (City of Glasgow)

Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

moved its

Westland Wapiti The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wa ...

IIA aircraft from nearby Renfrew.Smith, Abbotsinch The RAF Station HQ, however, was not formed until 1 July 1936 when 6 Auxiliary Group,

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

, arrived. From May 1939, until moving away in October 1939, the Squadron flew the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

1940

In 1940, a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

training unit was formed, which trained both RAF and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

crews under

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. On 11 August 1943 Abbotsinch was handed over solely to the Royal Navy and it became a

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

. All navy ships and bases are given ship names and Abbotsinch's was known as HMS ''Sanderling'' since June 1940. During the 1950s, the airfield housed a large aircraft storage unit and squadrons of the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. The Royal Navy left in October 1963. The name

Sanderling The sanderling (''Calidris alba'') is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloure ...

was, however, retained as a link between the two: HMS ''Sanderling''s

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of s ...

was presented to the new airport and a bar in the airport was named ''The Sanderling Bar''. The following squadrons were based at Glasgow Airport at some point: ;Units:

1960s

In the 1960s,

Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one of ...

decided that a new airport for the city was required. The original site of Glasgow's main airport,

Renfrew Airport Renfrew Airport was the domestic airport serving the city of Glasgow until it was decommissioned in 1966. It was located in the Newmains area of Renfrew, approximately 2 kilometres east of Abbotsinch Airfield which would eventually replace it. I ...

, was east of Abbotsinch, in what is now the Dean Park area of Renfrew. The original

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

terminal building of the original airport has not survived. The site is now occupied by a

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

supermarket and the M8 motorway; this straight and level section of motorway occupies the site of the

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

.Smith, Renfrew Abbotsinch took over from Renfrew Airport on 2 May 1966. The

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

had already committed millions into rebuilding

Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport () is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and southwest of Glasgow. It is the less busy of the two airports serving the western part of ...

fit for the "

jet age The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about. Jet airliners were able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older pisto ...

". Nevertheless, the plan went forward and the new airport, designed by

Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...

and built at a cost of £4.2 million, was completed in 1966, with

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...

beginning services using

De Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...

aircraft. The first commercial flight to arrive was a British European Airways flight from Edinburgh, landing at 8 am on 2 May 1966. The airport was officially opened on 27 June 1966 by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. The political rows over Glasgow and Prestwick airports continued, with Prestwick enjoying a monopoly over

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

traffic (under the 1946 US-UK

bilateral air transport agreement An air transport agreement (also sometimes called an air service agreement or ATA or ASA) is a bilateral agreement to allow international commercial air transport services between signatories. The bilateral system has its basis under the Chicago ...

known as the

Bermuda Agreement The Bermuda Agreement (formally Agreement between the government of the United Kingdom and the government of the United States relating to Air Services between their respective Territories), reached in 1946 by American and British negotiators in ...

), while Glasgow Airport was only allowed to handle UK and intra-European traffic.

1970s to 1990s

In 1975, the BAA took ownership of Glasgow Airport. When BAA was

privatised Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

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 International Airport in 1989. 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 of Pan Am flight 103 on the 21st December 1988 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. 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 distinctive

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

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 the

check-in Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, seaport or event. Office check-in Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriving to a ...

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 was added at the western side of the building, leaving the facility with a total of 38

gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...

, bringing its capacity up to nine million passengers per year. 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, principally Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Airways and formerly

Thomas Cook Airlines Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It ...

until they went into administration. By 1996, Glasgow was handling over 5.5 million passengers per annum, making it the fourth-largest airport in the UK.

Post 2000

The airport serves a variety of destinations throughout Europe and the Middle East.

and

are all based at the airport. 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. In 2019, the pier received the ability to facilitate the A380 following an £8million upgrade. The Central Pier was part of the original 1966 building. The British Airways gates are located in the 1971 extension at the end of the pier, with

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

and

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

shuttles making up most of its traffic as well as BA CityFlyer flights to London City. The British Airways lounge is located on this pier, across from gate 15.

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

and

Flybe Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, is a British airline based at Birmingham Airport, England. History The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Expres ...

formerly operated from the centre pier. Most of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. This pier has stands 14 - 26. 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 are Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and Loganair. In 2015, a £3million extension was added to the pier, creating space for 750,000 extra passengers a year. This pier has stands 112. In late 2007, work commenced on Skyhub (located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2) 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 the M8 motorway to the south, the town of Renfrew to the east and the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

to the north. At present the areas of

Drumchapel Drumchapel ( gd, Druim a' Chapaill), known locally as 'The Drum', is a district in the north-west of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It borders Bearsden (in East Dunbartonshire) to the north-east and Drumry (part of Clydebank, in West Dunbartons ...

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

Bearsden Bearsden () is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately from Glasgow city centre, Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with t ...

Foxbar Foxbar is a district of Paisley, bordered by the Gleniffer Braes and Paisley town centre. Consisting mostly of residential areas, Foxbar has rapidly grown over the past century to be one of the largest housing areas in the town. An area of low ...

Faifley Faifley ( gd, Fionn Bhealach, IPA: �fjuːn̴̪ˈvɛɫ̪əx is a large estate forming part of the town of Clydebank, Scotland, adjoining the former village of Hardgate, with a population of approximately 5,001. Along with Duntocher and Hardgate, ...

and

Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia *Linwood, South Australia * Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...

all sit directly underneath the approach paths into the airport, meaning that further increases in traffic may be politically sensitive. The airport is challenged by

, which now serves a wider range of European destinations and has grown to overtake Glasgow as Scotland's busiest airport. The Scottish Executive announced in 2002 that a rail line – known as the

Glasgow Airport Rail Link The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) is a proposed link between Glasgow City Centre and Glasgow Airport. The original plans for an airport rail link were proposed during the 2000s to directly link Glasgow Central station with Glasgow Airport i ...

(GARL) – would be built from

Glasgow Central station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Main Concourse at Glasgow Central Station.JPG , caption = The main concourse , borough = Glasgow, City of Glasgow , country ...

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. 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, the Glasgow Airport Express, which operates services to

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. The service is run by

First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...

and all buses feature leather seats, USB charging ports and free WiFi. The airport is home to the Scottish

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

, previously a

franchise operator, who have their head office located on site.

has a maintenance

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

at the airport, capable of carrying out overhaul work on

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

, as well as a cargo facility. The

also has a unit based within the airport – The

Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron A Royal Air Force University Air Squadron recruiting within Scotland, Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron (commonly known as UGSAS) draws its members from six higher education establishments within Glasgow and its surrounding area ...

– 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 at

. On 30 June 2007, a day after the failed car bomb attacks in London, an attack at Glasgow International Airport occurred. A flaming

Jeep Cherokee The Jeep Cherokee is a line of SUVs manufactured and marketed by Jeep over five generations. Originally marketed as a variant of the Jeep Wagoneer, the Cherokee has evolved from a full-size SUV to one of the first compact SUVs and into its curr ...

was driven into the entrance of Main Terminal. Two men, one alight, fled the vehicle before being apprehended by a combination of police officers, airport security officers and witnesses. One of the men died in the following months due to injuries sustained in the attack. New barriers and security measures have been added to prevent a similar incident from taking place. Icelandair temporarily moved its base of operations from

Keflavík International Airport Keflavík Airport ( is, Keflavíkurflugvöllur ) , also known as Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport, is the largest airport in Iceland and the country's main hub for international transportation. The airport is west of Keflavík and southwest of ...

to Glasgow due to the

2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull Between March and June 2010 a series of volcanic events at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland caused enormous disruption to air travel across Western Europe. The disruptions started over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional locali ...

. On 10 April 2014,

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

operated an

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

to Glasgow to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Glasgow - Dubai route, and was the first time an A380 had visited a Scottish airport. In July 2014,

opened a dedicated lounge at the airport 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 and

Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia' ...

for £1 billion. In 2017,

became the first airline to carry more than one million passengers from the airport in a period of 12 months. On 27 February 2018,

announced that it would close its base at Glasgow, and retain just three of its 22 routes. It cited the Scottish Government's failure to replace

Air Passenger Duty Air Passenger Duty (APD) is an excise Duty (tax), duty which is charged on the carriage of passengers flying from a United Kingdom or Isle of Man airport on an aircraft that has an authorised take-off weight of more than 5.7 tonnes or more than ...

with a cheaper

Air Departure Tax Air Departure Tax (ADT) is a pending tax intended to replace the UK-wide Air Passenger Duty in Scotland. Legislation has been passed to allow the introduction of the tax and it was originally expected to come into force on 1 April 2018. However, ...

. On 16 April 2019, Emirates launched a daily A380 flight on the Glasgow - Dubai route, making it the first regular A380 service in Scotland. On 12 June 2021,

Aer Lingus Regional Aer Lingus Regional is an Aer Lingus brand which has been used for commuter and regional flights. Aer Lingus Regional scheduled passenger services operate primarily from Ireland to the United Kingdom, France, and the Channel Islands, and also ...

operator

Stobart Air Stobart Air, legally incorporated as ''Stobart Air Unlimited Company'', was an Irish regional airline headquartered in Dublin. It operated scheduled services under the brands Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer and KLM Cityhopper on behalf of their ...

entered liquidation resulting in all

routes to and from the airport being cancelled with immediate effect. Stobart Air was due to be replaced by

Emerald Airlines Emerald Airlines is an Irish regional airline headquartered in Dublin, on the grounds of Dublin Airport. In August 2021, the airline became the operator of the Aer Lingus Regional franchise, before operations launched on 26 February 2022. His ...

as the Aer Lingus Regional operator in 2023, although their CEO states they would be able to launch flights from summer 2021 should they need to, bringing the possibility of the routes being restored in the future.

Plans

In 2005, BAA published a consultation paper 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 and

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

. On 29 November 2006, the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

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, due to escalating costs, the project was cancelled by the Scottish Government. BAA's plans, which are expected to cost some £290 million 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 9.4 million passengers passing through the airport is expected to rise to more than 24 million by 2030. As of late 2017, there are plans to build a light rail link that will connect the city centre to the airport via

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

, with plans already underway to begin construction of the project after the cancellation of the original

project.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter services to and from Glasgow:glasgowairport.com - Destination Map
retrieved 18 April 2020

Statistics

Annual traffic data

Busiest routes

Accidents and incidents

* On 3 September 1999, a

Cessna 404 The Cessna Model 404 Titan is an American twin-engined, light aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft. It was that company's largest twin piston-engined aircraft at the time of its development in the 1970s. Its US military designation is C-28, and ...

carrying nine

Airtours MyTravel Group plc was a British, global travel group headquartered in Rochdale, England. It was founded in 1972 as Airtours Group. The group included two in-house airlines, MyTravel Airways UK and MyTravel Airways Scandinavia, and various t ...

staff from Glasgow to

on a transfer flight,

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

minutes after takeoff near the town of Linwood, Renfrewshire. Eight people were killed and three seriously injured. No one on the ground was hurt. The

Air Accident Investigation Branch The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...

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. A

fatal accident inquiry A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland. Until 2009, they did not apply to any deaths occurring in other jurisdictions, when the Coroners an ...

was also held, which reached the same conclusion. * On 30 June 2007, a group of extremists attacked the airport by ramming a

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 the hospital and the others were jailed. * 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.

Ground transport

The airport is currently linked to Glasgow City Centre by the 500 Glasgow Airport Express service. This is run by

under contract to Glasgow Airport. Started in 2011, the service runs direct via the M8 motorway.

McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.Paisley Gilmour Street railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = 2012 at Paisley Gilmour Street station - main entrance.jpg , caption = Paisley Gilmour Street from County Square , borough = Paisley, R ...

, Paisley town centre, Erskine & Clydebank. This bus accepts

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

tickets between Glasgow Airport and any railway station.

Proposed rail link

Glasgow_Subway_and_proposed_Airport_Rail_Map

Plans for a rail link from the airport to

were proposed in the 2000s, shelved in 2009 and then resurrected work is due to start in 2022, with the line expected to open in 2025.

Glasgow Metro

A planned extension of the

Glasgow Subway The Glasgow Subway is an underground light metro system in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the fourth-oldest underground rail transit system in Europe after the London Underground, Liverpool's Mersey Railway and the Budapes ...

system which is proposed to include multiple light rail and elevated rapid transit lines around the city including a line to Paisley City Centre, and two stations at Glasgow Airport. The line would be elevated at the airport and run on segregated tracks into

City Centre, and would most likely cancel the current plans for the

Notes

References

Sources

* McCloskey, Keith. ''Glasgow's Airports: Renfrew and Abbotsinch''. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press Ltd., 2009. . * Smith, David J. ''Action Stations, Volume 7: Military airfields of Scotland, the North-East and Northern Ireland''. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1983 . *

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1966 establishments in Scotland Airports established in 1932 Airports in Scotland Basil Spence buildings Buildings and structures in Renfrewshire Heathrow Airport Holdings Transport in Glasgow Transport in Paisley, Renfrewshire