Glasgow International Airport

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Glasgow International Airport
IATA: GLA - ICAO: EGPF
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		BAA
Serves		Glasgow
Elevation AMSL		26 ft (8 m)
Coordinates		55°52′19″N, 004°25′59″W
Website		www.glasgowairport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
05/23	8,720	2,658	Grooved Asphalt
09/27	3,622	1,104	Asphalt

Glasgow International Airport (IATA: GLA, ICAO: EGPF) is located 8 miles (13 km) west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

It is the largest and busiest airport in Scotland and was sixth busiest in the UK during 2005^[1], dropping to seventh busiest during 2006^[2] It was the first airport in Scotland to handle over one million passengers in one month.

The airport is owned by BAA Limited, which also owns London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton airports.

Glasgow International Airport is a hub airport for Loganair, easyJet and Flyglobespan.

The other international airport branded as a Glasgow destination is Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, situated 29 miles (46 km) from the city centre, serving low cost airlines and currently handling slightly more than a quarter of Glasgow Airport's traffic.

Contents 1 History 2 Today 3 Future Plans 4 Airlines and destinations 5 Holiday airlines 6 Accidents and other incidents 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

The history of the present Glasgow Airport goes back to 1932, when the site at Abbotsinch, between the Black Cart Water and the White Cart Water, near Paisley in Renfrewshire, was opened and the Royal Air Force 602 Squadron (City of Glasgow) Auxiliary Air Force moved its Wapiti IIA aircraft from nearby Renfrew in January 1933. ^[3] The RAF Station HQ, however, was not formed until 1 July 1936 when 6 Auxiliary Group, Bomber Command, arrived.^[3] From May 1939, until moving away in October 1939, the Squadron flew the Supermarine Spitfire.

In 1940 a Torpedo training unit was formed, which trained both RAF and Royal Navy crews.^[3] On 11 August 1943 Abbotsinch was handed over solely to the Royal Navy and it became a Stone frigate. All Her Majesty's Ships and Stone Frigates are given names and Abbotsinch's was HMS Sanderling; however Abbotsinch had been known as HMS Sanderling since June 1940.^[3]. During the 1950s, the airfield had housed a large aircraft storage unit and squadrons of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

The Royal Navy left in October 1963.^[3] The name Sanderling was however retained as a link between the two: HMS Sanderling's ship's bell was presented to the new airport and a bar in the airport was named The Sanderling Bar.

In the 1960s Glasgow Corporation decided that a new airport for the city was required. The original site of Glasgow's main airport was 3 km (2 miles) east of Abbotsinch, in what is now the Dean Park area of Renfrew. The original Art Deco terminal building of Renfrew Airport has not survived. The site now being occupied by a Tesco supermarket and the M8 motorway; this remarkably straight and level section of motorway occupying the site of the main runway.^[4]

Abbotsinch took over from Renfrew airport on 2 May 1966.^[3][4] It was a controversial plan^{[citation needed]}, as central government had already committed millions into rebuilding Prestwick Airport fit for the "jet age". Nevertheless, the plan went forward and the new airport, designed by Basil Spence and built at a cost of £4.2 million, was completed in 1966, with British European Airways beginning services using De Havilland Comet aircraft. The first commercial flight to arrive was a British European Airways flight from Edinburgh, landing at 8am on May 2, 1966. The airport was officially opened on June 27, 1966 by Queen Elizabeth II. The political rows over Glasgow and Prestwick airports continued, with Prestwick enjoying a monopoly over transatlantic traffic, while Glasgow Airport was only allowed to handle UK and intra-European traffic.

In 1975 the British Airports Authority (BAA) took ownership of Glasgow Airport. When BAA was privatised in the late 1980s, as BAA plc, it consolidated its airport portfolio and sold Prestwick airport. The restrictions on Glasgow Airport were lifted and the transatlantic operators immediately moved from Prestwick; Glasgow Airport being renamed Glasgow International Airport. BAA embarked on a massive redevelopment plan for Glasgow International Airport in 1989.

An extended terminal building was created by building the new structure so that the original Basil Spence building is actually inside it. The original concrete arches which once looked onto Caledonia Road now form the facade of the check-in area. Glasgow International Airport now has 38 gates, 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), in order to provide a dedicated check-in facility for low cost airlines, principally easyJet and MyTravel Airways.

By 1996, Glasgow Airport was handling 5.47 million passengers per annum, placing it fourth in the UK. In 2006, the airport handled 8.82 million terminal passengers, seventh highest in the UK, 0.21 million ahead of its nearest large competitor - Edinburgh Airport.

[edit] Today

The terminal has three piers, West (International), Central (Domestic) and East (Lo-Cost & Ireland/Northern Ireland).

The Central Pier, which was part of the original 1966 building, is now used for domestic destinations. British Airways is based in the 1971 extension to the end of the pier, with most flights using Gates 17 to 23. There are two BA Executive Club lounges, one by Gate 18 and the second (taken over from KLM UK when this airline withdrew from the route to London-Stansted) by gate 16. bmi use Gates 16, 24 and 25. Recent developments at Gate 25 have seen the relocation of the bmi Diamond Club and Business lounges to the area between Gates 25 and 26, and a new W.H. Smiths replacing that previously at Gate 20. This pier is also used by Air Berlin (usually gates 23 or 26) and flyBe (gates 14 & 15). Air Bridges are available at Gate 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. Gates 14, 15, 16, 18 and 20 are reached by stairs being primarily used by aircraft that do not use airbridges. Stand 19 can accommodate a Boeing 767 or two regional aircraft.

The East Pier, constructed in the mid 1970s, was originally used for international flights but in recent years has been redeveloped for use by easyJet and Loganair as well as some charters. All flights to Ireland and Northern Ireland also use this pier. None of the stands on this pier are provided with airbridges. Stands 6 and 7 at the end of the East Pier are capable of receiving wide-body jets and occasionally passengers on international flights are bussed to/from the West (International) Pier to use aircraft parked there. The major users of this pier are Aer Lingus, Loganair and easyJet.

The West Pier, built as part of the 1989 extension project, is the principal international and long haul departure point. Stands 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33 and 34 are provided with airbridges. When Stand 30 has two Boeing 737 size aircraft parked, the aircraft on Stand 30L can use the airbridge. Gates 51 and 52 (otherwise known as gates 25 and 26 on the Central Pier) are also accessible from the International Lounge, making these two stands dual-use. Stands 29 and 30 are capable of handling Boeing 747 aircraft. The largest aircraft currently regularly using the airport are the Emirates Boeing 777-300 which uses Stand 30. In the Spring of 2006 a redevelopment of the International Departure Lounge took place including the provision of a new business/premium lounge.

In 2006 the British Regional Hangar was demolished and new international stands 37, 38 and 39 opposite the West Pier were constructed, opening in August 2006. These can be used in various combinations depending on the type of aircraft.

Several stands, numbered in the 60s, are provided to the east of the East Pier, mainly used by Cargo aircraft.

Additional parking stands 81 and 82 were provided in 2004 adjacent to the Control Tower, with passengers requiring a bus transfer from the terminal.

Further 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 to the north. At present the towns of Clydebank, Bearsden and Linwood all sit directly underneath the approach paths into the airport, meaning that further increases in traffic may be politically sensitive. Glasgow International also faces stiff competition from its old adversary at Prestwick, which has reinvented itself as a low-cost hub for budget airlines and which has a direct rail link to Central Glasgow. However, the Scottish Executive announced in 2002 that a rail link from Glasgow Central station would be built to Glasgow International Airport. The rail link known as Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) is expected to be completed in 2009 with the first trains running early 2010. Four trains an hour will run to Glasgow Central.

Currently, the airport is easily accessed by road due to the adjoining M8 motorway and is served by a frequent dedicated express bus from the city centre, although this can suffer due to congestion in the centre of Glasgow during peak periods.

The airport is home to the Scottish regional airline Loganair, currently a British Airways franchise operator, who have hangar facilities as well as their head office located on site. British Airways itself has a maintenance hangar at the airport, capable of carrying out overhaul work on Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft, as well as a cargo facility. Glasgow is also one of two main bases for Flyglobespan though this carrier does not have major facilities on the airfield.

[edit] Future Plans

In 2005 BAA published a consultation paper for the future 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 (Lo-cost) pier to connect directly with Terminal 2; and an additional International Pier to the west of the existing International Pier. Plans are also underway for a new rail terminal, joined to the airport's passenger terminal and multi-storey car park. On November 29, 2006 the Scottish Parliament gave the go-ahead for the new railway station as part of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link to Glasgow Central Station. The station and rail link are due to be completed in 2009.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

• Aer Lingus (Dublin)
• Air Berlin (London-Stansted)
• Air Malta (Malta)
• bmi (London-Heathrow)
  • bmi regional (Copenhagen, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester)
  • bmibaby (Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands)
• British Airways (London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow)
  • operated by Loganair (Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Isle of Man, Kirkwall, Londonderry, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree)
  • operated by BA CityFlyer (London-City)
• Continental Airlines (Newark)
• easyJet (Alicante, Belfast-International, Berlin-Schönefeld, Bristol, Geneva, Ibiza [starts June 16, 2007], London-Gatwick, London-Luton, London-Stansted, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca)
• Emirates (Dubai)
• Flybe (Belfast-City, Birmingham, Exeter, Guernsey, Jersey, Manchester, Norwich, Southampton)
• Flyglobespan (Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Boston, Calgary, Faro, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Mahon, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Pula, Orlando-Sanford, Tenerife-South, Toronto-Hamilton, Vancouver]
• Icelandair (Reykjavík-Keflavík)
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam)
  • operated by KLM Cityhopper (Amsterdam)
• Pakistan International Airlines (Lahore)
• Pegasus Airlines (Turkey seasonal)
• Scandinavian Airlines System (Stockholm-Arlanda)
• Thomsonfly (Palma de Mallorca)
• US Airways (Philadelphia) seasonal
• Virgin Atlantic (Orlando) seasonal
• Zoom Airlines (Calgary, Halifax [seasonal], Ottawa [seasonal], Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver)

[edit] Holiday airlines

Included in the list above is a number of charter flights operating from Glasgow for the Summer 2007 season. This information was taken from the BAA Glasgow website.

The airlines include; Air Europa, BH Air, bmi, Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines, SunExpress, LTE International Airways, Spanair, Nouverlair Tunisia, Eurocypria Airlines, MyTravel Airways, First Choice Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomsonfly, Excel Airways, Futura Airlines, Iberworld, AJet and Cyprus Turkish Airlines (KTHY)

[edit] Accidents and other incidents

• On 3 September 1999, a Cessna 404 carrying 9 Airtours staff from Glasgow to Aberdeen on a transfer flight, crashed minutes after take off near the town of Linwood. Eight people were killed and three seriously injured. No one on the ground was hurt. A fatal accident inquiry into the accident later found that the aircraft developed an engine malfunction during take off. 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.

• On 19 September 2003, a private, chartered plane carrying the Dixie Chicks clipped the side of a terminal building at the airport shortly after landing on the eve of their Australian Tour.

• On June 30, 2007, a day after a failed terror attack in London, a flaming Jeep Cherokee was driven into the entrance of Terminal One. Two men, one alight, fled the vehicle before being apprehended by a combination of police officers, airport security officers and witnesses.

See also: 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Smith, David J (1983). Action Stations. Volume 7: Military airfields of Scotland, the North-East and Northern Ireland. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 0-85059-563-0.
• United Kingdom AIP

[edit] External links

• BAA Glasgow Airport official site
• Aircraft photos at Glasgow International Airport
• Satellite photo, from Google