Glasgow Prestwick International Airport
Encyclopedia
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is an international airport
serving the Greater Glasgow
urban area, situated 1 NM northeast of the town of Prestwick
in South Ayrshire
and 32 miles from the city centre of Glasgow
.
In physical terms, Prestwick is Scotland's largest commercial airfield, although in passenger traffic terms it sits in fourth place after Edinburgh Airport
, Glasgow International
, and Aberdeen Airport
all of which are operated by BAA. Passenger traffic peaked in 2007 following ten years of rapid growth, driven in part by the boom in no-frills airlines
, especially from Ryanair
who is Prestwick's biggest tenant and uses the airport as a hub
. Since 2007 there has been a significant reduction in passenger traffic with 1.6 million passengers passing through the airport in 2010, an 8.5% annual reduction.
The airport began life around 1934 — primarily as a training airfield — with a hangar
, offices and control tower
being in place by the end of 1935. The airport's original owner was David Fowler McIntyre, who was also the owner of Scottish Aviation
with backing from the then Duke of Hamilton
. MacIntyre and Hamilton had previously been the first aviator
s to fly atop Mount Everest
in 1933. With the onset of World War II
, the airport developed rapidly in order to handle the large volume of American
aircraft ferry traffic.
In 1938 passenger facilities were added, which were used continuously until the implementation of a massive investment programme to make Prestwick compatible with the new jet transports which were becoming available. In 1958 runway 13/31 was 7000 ft (2,134 m) long; in May 1960 the extension to 9800 ft (2,987 m) opened. A parallel taxiway
, link road, and an all-new terminal building were opened by the Queen Mother
in 1964. The extension of Runway 13/31 caused considerable disruption to road users as the main road from Monkton into Prestwick was now crossing the tarmac of the existing runway. This had to be strictly controlled by a "level crossing" type system until the new perimeter road was completed.
(USAF) operated a base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force
(RAF) facilities (the USAF Military Air Transport Service
(MATS) 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS. The USAF base closed in 1966.
There had been proposed plans drawn up pre-war for the post war years which would have been classed as extremely ambitious, especially in the austere post-war years. Among the various proposals was a 4 mi (21,119.9 ft; 6,437.4 m) long main runway, an integral freight yard and railway station, and a semi enclosed mooring for flying boats and other amphibious aircraft
. However, the runway was never lengthened to that degree, and the decline in seaplane
and flying boat
operations also meant that the latter proposal was never enacted. It is telling however, that many years since those proposals were made, that Glasgow Prestwick Airport does have its own railway station, something that even Glasgow International Airport does not have.
with RNAS Prestwick, (more popularly known as HMS Gannet
), where a detachment of 3 Sea Kings
provide a search and rescue
role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and 200 NM past the Irish coast. Additionally, Gannet SAR provides a medical evacuation service to the Scottish island communities. Personnel at the base numbers 15 officers, 11 ratings, 28 civil servants and 50 civilian staff.
The crews regularly feature as part of the popular Channel 5 documentary series Highland Emergency
.
2009 saw the unit break a new record as they were tasked to 447 call outs. This figure equates to 20% of the UK’s total military SAR call outs for 2009 making them, for the second year in succession, the busiest Search & Rescue base in the UK.
built a factory using the original terminal building and hangars at Prestwick, which produced such aircraft as the Prestwick Pioneers
, and later the Jetstream and Bulldog
. One part of the factory, the large white art-deco
building which remains to this day, had in fact been the Palace of Engineering that had been built as part of the Empire Exhibition
at Bellahouston Park
in Glasgow in 1938. When Scottish Aviation merged with British Aerospace
as a result of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act
, BAe maintained aircraft production at the site until 1998, primarily updates of the Jetstream line. Today BAE Systems
retains a small facility at Prestwick for its BAE Systems Regional Aircraft
division, with the adjoining main manufacturing site, producing components for Airbus
and Boeing
aircraft, having been sold to Spirit AeroSystems
in January 2006.
In the beginning, Prestwick was the only Scottish airport allowed to operate a transatlantic
link, largely due to the very benign weather conditions on the Ayrshire
coast. Indeed, with a much lower incidence of fog
than any other airport in the United Kingdom
due to a geological
anomaly, Glasgow Prestwick has the reputation of being "Britain's only fog-free airport". This is perhaps one reason it managed to avoid total closure when it appeared that BAA seemed to be running down operations. It was also partly a political decision to silence those that questioned why Glasgow needed two airports when Glasgow Corporation
had already invested money building Glasgow International Airport
.
After British Airways
had ceased regular passenger operations in 1983, BA continued to intermittently use Prestwick as a site for pilot training
, especially for training Concorde
pilots. Concorde became a semi-regular visitor to the airport, and indeed BA and a number of other major airlines still use Prestwick for pilot training.
ever set foot, when the United States Army
transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, whilst en route from Germany. A lounge bearing his name and a marker reflecting this event were inaugurated in 2006.
However on 21 April 2008, during a BBC Two
radio interview with Ken Bruce
, theatre impresario and chairman of Everton F.C.
, Bill Kenwright
, said that Elvis actually spent a day in the UK being shown around London by Tommy Steele
in 1958. Steele later confirmed the story but expressed his sadness that it was now public knowledge, saying "I swore never to divulge publicly what took place and I regret that it has found some way of 'getting into the light'."
In response, Mark Rodwell, chief executive of Prestwick Airport, told BBC Radio Scotland
, that until it was proved otherwise Prestwick Airport remains the only place in the United Kingdom that Elvis Presley ever set foot. He added: "There is photographic evidence to prove that Elvis was here on March 3rd 1960, however we are not aware of any photographs of this alleged visit to London, while the timing of it also seems a bit vague."
, the first of which was held on 30 September 1967. While very small in scale compared to such shows as RAF Fairford
or Farnborough, the air show was a local attraction and drew a considerable crowd. There were constant rumours in later years that the SR-71 Blackbird
reconnaissance aircraft
would make an appearance, but this came to nothing, most likely due to difficulties associated with handling the special fuel. The last air show was in 1992 and there have been no efforts at reviving it since.
, near Paisley
, and sell Prestwick off to the private sector. In the early-to-mid 1990s passenger figures fell sharply with only freight traffic and a small number of charter flights using Prestwick on a regular basis. At this point the airport faced an uncertain future.
1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "canadian entrepreneur" Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue". Hudson took the move of building the airport's own railway station on the existing Ayrshire Coast Line
(Glasgow-Ayr), which runs straight past the airfield, making the airport the first in Scotland to have its own railway station. In her book about Prestwick Airport, South Ayrshire councillor Ann Galbraith writes about this tough time in the airport's history, saying that "if it hadn’t been for Matthew Hudson the airport wouldn’t be here today". Then, Irish budget airline Ryanair
opened a route to the airport from Dublin. This led to another route to London
the following year. The resulting rapid growth of Europe
an no-frills airline
s in the late 1990s saw Prestwick grow even larger than it had ever been, in traffic terms, under state ownership. In 1998, Matthew Hudson sold Prestwick Airport to Stagecoach
, a large Scottish transportation group helmed by Sir Brian Souter
.
Today, Ryanair now serves more than 20 destinations from Prestwick – now one of their maintenance hubs – and other budget airlines have also moved into the airport. As well as the thriving no-frills segment, Prestwick has continued its traditional strategic role as a refuelling point for military aircraft – the USAF, RAF and the Canadian Forces Air Command
are frequent visitors for example. Cargo traffic has also become another stronghold of Prestwick with the vast majority of Scotland's Boeing 747
Freighter traffic entering via the airport. On the 5th of September 2009 the A380 approached and took off from the airport
The airport is privately owned
by Infratil
, a New Zealand
investment company
which also owns Wellington International Airport
and Kent International Airport
at Manston Ramsgate
. In April 2005, Infratil completed a major £3 million refurbishment of the terminal building, and also controversially rebranded the airport using the phrase "Pure Dead Brilliant", taken straight from the Glasgow patter
. Some of this rebranding
has been controversial, in particular the redecoration of the airport bar
. The bar was rebranded in February 2006 with a logo
depicting a man in a kilt
, unconscious with an empty bottle of whisky
. Despite objections that it promoted the wrong image of Scotland to foreign visitors and embarrassed local travellers, the airport management insisted the logo was "fun and visually stimulating". However, the logo was removed on March 3, 2006, a matter of weeks after its introduction, after the intervention of the South Ayrshire Licensing Board who said the logo trivialised excessive drinking.
On 6 July 2005, Prestwick Airport became the entry point into Scotland for the world's most powerful leaders on the eve of the 31st G8 summit
which was being held in Gleneagles
. Strathclyde Police
implemented an unprecedented level of security around the airport for the duration of the summit. Officers from police forces throughout the UK were drafted in to assist in the operation, including armed officers. In preparation for the landing of Air Force One
, carrying then US president George W. Bush
, the A77 which runs past the end of the main runway, was controversially closed while the aircraft was on final approach
.
Since 2007 the airport has occasionally been used by BBC
motoring TV show Top Gear
as the location for various stunts and experiments. The most well known of which was inspired by a scene in the movie Casino Royale
and featured both a Ford Mondeo
and a Citroën 2CV
parked behind the engines of a Virgin Atlantic
Boeing 747-400
, in an experiment to investigate if the thrust from the aircraft four jet engines really could lift a car off the ground.
The majority operating Boeing 747-400F aircraft. Air Foyle HeavyLift
and Volga-Dnepr
are also occasional users of Prestwick with Antonov An-124
aircraft.
. A two storey building is being considered to replace the current arrivals and departure halls. One floor would be used for departures and the other for arrivals. It would also raise the amount of aircraft stands from 6 to 12. This process will take 18 months (Works not yet started May 2011).An Airbus A380 made an approach & go round at Prestwick Airport for the first time on the 5 September 2009.
The car park, and A79
outside the terminal building has recently been redeveloped due to new rules and regulation put in place by the Government after Glasgow's terrorist attack.
Ryanair are also in the process of building a 6,000 sq/m aircraft maintenance hangar at a cost of £8million and will bring 200 engineering jobs to the area. This is Ryanair's second hangar and will mean the majority of Ryanair's fleet will be maintained at Prestwick.
than Glasgow International Airport
, Prestwick is well patronised with convenient public transport options. A forty minute train journey from Glasgow Central to the airport can even be quicker than the equivalent direct bus journey from the city centre to Glasgow International Airport
/, although by train, it is marginally over ten minutes from Glasgow Central
Station to Paisley Gilmour Street, from where the bus connection to Glasgow Airport takes only another ten minutes.
to have its own railway station, Glasgow Prestwick Airport railway station, which was built by the airport in 1994. The station is connected to the terminal by an enclosed walkway over the A79 road
, and platforms are easily accessed by stairs, escalators and lifts. The station continues to be owned and operated by the Airport, and not by Network Rail
or First ScotRail
.
All services from the station are operated by First ScotRail
. The most frequent services are on the electrified route between Glasgow Central and Ayr
on the Ayrshire Coast Line
. Trains run half-hourly Monday to Saturday (and Sunday during the summer) and hourly on Sunday. There are also less frequent services to Stranraer
, Newcastle
and Kilmarnock
. All passengers receive 50% off the standard adult single train fare between the airport and any destination in Scotland when they show a valid itinerary for that day. New routes are also marked with a promotional period (normally 6 months after launch) during which time rail travel is free to and from the airport.
The railway station will be extended about 45 meters, so longer trains can handle more people.
and Ayr
.
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
serving the Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...
urban area, situated 1 NM northeast of the town of Prestwick
Prestwick
Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...
in South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
and 32 miles from the city centre of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
In physical terms, Prestwick is Scotland's largest commercial airfield, although in passenger traffic terms it sits in fourth place after Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is located at Turnhouse in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2010, handling just under 8.6 million passengers in that year. It was also the sixth busiest airport in the UK by passengers and the fifth busiest by aircraft movements...
, Glasgow International
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
, and Aberdeen Airport
Aberdeen Airport
Aberdeen Airport is an international airport, located at Dyce, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 2.76 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2010, a reduction of 7.4% compared with 2009, making it the 15th busiest airport in the UK...
all of which are operated by BAA. Passenger traffic peaked in 2007 following ten years of rapid growth, driven in part by the boom in no-frills airlines
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
, especially from Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
who is Prestwick's biggest tenant and uses the airport as a hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
. Since 2007 there has been a significant reduction in passenger traffic with 1.6 million passengers passing through the airport in 2010, an 8.5% annual reduction.
History
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
, offices and control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
being in place by the end of 1935. The airport's original owner was David Fowler McIntyre, who was also the owner of Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation Limited was a Scottish aircraft manufacturer, based at Prestwick in South Ayrshire.-History:Originally a flying school operator the company took on maintenance work in 1938....
with backing from the then Duke of Hamilton
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton
Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, KT, GCVO, AFC, PC, DL, FRCSE, FRGS, was a Scottish nobleman and pioneering aviator....
. MacIntyre and Hamilton had previously been the first aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
s to fly atop Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in 1933. With the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the airport developed rapidly in order to handle the large volume of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft ferry traffic.
In 1938 passenger facilities were added, which were used continuously until the implementation of a massive investment programme to make Prestwick compatible with the new jet transports which were becoming available. In 1958 runway 13/31 was 7000 ft (2,134 m) long; in May 1960 the extension to 9800 ft (2,987 m) opened. A parallel taxiway
Taxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
, link road, and an all-new terminal building were opened by the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
in 1964. The extension of Runway 13/31 caused considerable disruption to road users as the main road from Monkton into Prestwick was now crossing the tarmac of the existing runway. This had to be strictly controlled by a "level crossing" type system until the new perimeter road was completed.
Military use
The United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF) operated a base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) facilities (the USAF Military Air Transport Service
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
(MATS) 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS. The USAF base closed in 1966.
There had been proposed plans drawn up pre-war for the post war years which would have been classed as extremely ambitious, especially in the austere post-war years. Among the various proposals was a 4 mi (21,119.9 ft; 6,437.4 m) long main runway, an integral freight yard and railway station, and a semi enclosed mooring for flying boats and other amphibious aircraft
Amphibious aircraft
An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes that are equipped with retractable wheels, at the expense of extra weight and complexity, plus diminished range and fuel economy compared to planes...
. However, the runway was never lengthened to that degree, and the decline in seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
and flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
operations also meant that the latter proposal was never enacted. It is telling however, that many years since those proposals were made, that Glasgow Prestwick Airport does have its own railway station, something that even Glasgow International Airport does not have.
Present
Today, part of the Prestwick site is occupied by the Royal Navy Fleet Air ArmFleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
with RNAS Prestwick, (more popularly known as HMS Gannet
HMS Gannet SAR Flight
HMS Gannet SAR Flight is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron based at RNAS Prestwick in Scotland. It operates three Sea King Mk5 helicopters in the military and civilian Search and Rescue role across Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland...
), where a detachment of 3 Sea Kings
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
provide a search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and 200 NM past the Irish coast. Additionally, Gannet SAR provides a medical evacuation service to the Scottish island communities. Personnel at the base numbers 15 officers, 11 ratings, 28 civil servants and 50 civilian staff.
The crews regularly feature as part of the popular Channel 5 documentary series Highland Emergency
Highland Emergency
Highland Emergency is a British television documentary series following the work of the emergency services in the Highlands of Scotland. It is broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK....
.
2009 saw the unit break a new record as they were tasked to 447 call outs. This figure equates to 20% of the UK’s total military SAR call outs for 2009 making them, for the second year in succession, the busiest Search & Rescue base in the UK.
Industrial use
Scottish AviationScottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation Limited was a Scottish aircraft manufacturer, based at Prestwick in South Ayrshire.-History:Originally a flying school operator the company took on maintenance work in 1938....
built a factory using the original terminal building and hangars at Prestwick, which produced such aircraft as the Prestwick Pioneers
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.*Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....
, and later the Jetstream and Bulldog
Scottish Aviation Bulldog
|-See also:-External links:...
. One part of the factory, the large white art-deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building which remains to this day, had in fact been the Palace of Engineering that had been built as part of the Empire Exhibition
Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938
Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 was an international exposition held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, from May to December 1938....
at Bellahouston Park
Bellahouston Park
Bellahouston Park is a public park in the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Mosspark, Craigton, Ibrox, and Dumbreck, covering an area of . It is based around Ibrox hill in the centre, with commanding views over most of the city, exceptions being views to the east that are...
in Glasgow in 1938. When Scottish Aviation merged with British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
as a result of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act
Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that nationalised large parts of the UK aerospace and shipbuilding industries and established two corporations, British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders ....
, BAe maintained aircraft production at the site until 1998, primarily updates of the Jetstream line. Today BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
retains a small facility at Prestwick for its BAE Systems Regional Aircraft
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft
thumb|300px|An Avro RJ85. BAE Systems Regional Aircraft still leases a large number of these jets.BAE Systems Regional Aircraft produced the last fully UK-built airliner in November 2001, the Avro RJX...
division, with the adjoining main manufacturing site, producing components for Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
and Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
aircraft, having been sold to Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. , based in Wichita, Kansas, is the world's largest first-tier aerostructures manufacturer. The company builds several important pieces of Boeing aircraft, including the fuselage of the 737, portions of the 787 fuselage, and the cockpit of nearly all of its airliners...
in January 2006.
In the beginning, Prestwick was the only Scottish airport allowed to operate a transatlantic
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
link, largely due to the very benign weather conditions on the Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
coast. Indeed, with a much lower incidence of fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
than any other airport in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
due to a geological
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
anomaly, Glasgow Prestwick has the reputation of being "Britain's only fog-free airport". This is perhaps one reason it managed to avoid total closure when it appeared that BAA seemed to be running down operations. It was also partly a political decision to silence those that questioned why Glasgow needed two airports when Glasgow Corporation
Politics of Glasgow
Politics in Glasgow, Scotland, is evident in the deliberations and decisions of the city council of Glasgow , in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom .In the European Parliament, the city area is...
had already invested money building Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
.
After British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
had ceased regular passenger operations in 1983, BA continued to intermittently use Prestwick as a site for pilot training
Flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills....
, especially for training Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
pilots. Concorde became a semi-regular visitor to the airport, and indeed BA and a number of other major airlines still use Prestwick for pilot training.
Elvis Presley
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is considered to be the only piece of United Kingdom territory on which Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
ever set foot, when the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, whilst en route from Germany. A lounge bearing his name and a marker reflecting this event were inaugurated in 2006.
However on 21 April 2008, during a BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
radio interview with Ken Bruce
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.-Early life and career:...
, theatre impresario and chairman of Everton F.C.
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, Bill Kenwright
Bill Kenwright
Bill Kenwright CBE is a leading West End theatre producer and film producer.He is also the Chairman of Everton Football Club, an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool....
, said that Elvis actually spent a day in the UK being shown around London by Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...
in 1958. Steele later confirmed the story but expressed his sadness that it was now public knowledge, saying "I swore never to divulge publicly what took place and I regret that it has found some way of 'getting into the light'."
In response, Mark Rodwell, chief executive of Prestwick Airport, told BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...
, that until it was proved otherwise Prestwick Airport remains the only place in the United Kingdom that Elvis Presley ever set foot. He added: "There is photographic evidence to prove that Elvis was here on March 3rd 1960, however we are not aware of any photographs of this alleged visit to London, while the timing of it also seems a bit vague."
Prestwick Air Show
Prestwick Airport also used to host a bi-annual airshowAirshow
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
, the first of which was held on 30 September 1967. While very small in scale compared to such shows as RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in...
or Farnborough, the air show was a local attraction and drew a considerable crowd. There were constant rumours in later years that the SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
reconnaissance aircraft
Surveillance aircraft
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance — collecting information over time. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, observation , border patrol and fishery...
would make an appearance, but this came to nothing, most likely due to difficulties associated with handling the special fuel. The last air show was in 1992 and there have been no efforts at reviving it since.
Changes since 1990
In 1991 the newly-privatised British Airports Authority, BAA Limited consolidated their portfolio of UK airports. Part of this was to move all transatlantic traffic departing from Scotland to Glasgow International AirportGlasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
, near Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, and sell Prestwick off to the private sector. In the early-to-mid 1990s passenger figures fell sharply with only freight traffic and a small number of charter flights using Prestwick on a regular basis. At this point the airport faced an uncertain future.
1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "canadian entrepreneur" Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue". Hudson took the move of building the airport's own railway station on the existing Ayrshire Coast Line
Ayrshire Coast Line
The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow...
(Glasgow-Ayr), which runs straight past the airfield, making the airport the first in Scotland to have its own railway station. In her book about Prestwick Airport, South Ayrshire councillor Ann Galbraith writes about this tough time in the airport's history, saying that "if it hadn’t been for Matthew Hudson the airport wouldn’t be here today". Then, Irish budget airline Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
opened a route to the airport from Dublin. This led to another route to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
the following year. The resulting rapid growth of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an no-frills airline
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
s in the late 1990s saw Prestwick grow even larger than it had ever been, in traffic terms, under state ownership. In 1998, Matthew Hudson sold Prestwick Airport to Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
, a large Scottish transportation group helmed by Sir Brian Souter
Brian Souter
Sir Brian Souter , is a Scottish businessman. He is the co-founder of the Stagecoach Group, along with his sister, Ann Gloag. He is also widely known for his controversial public statements and for his attempt to keep Section 28 in law, which led to widespread accusations of homophobia...
.
Today, Ryanair now serves more than 20 destinations from Prestwick – now one of their maintenance hubs – and other budget airlines have also moved into the airport. As well as the thriving no-frills segment, Prestwick has continued its traditional strategic role as a refuelling point for military aircraft – the USAF, RAF and the Canadian Forces Air Command
Canadian Forces Air Command
The Royal Canadian Air Force , formerly Canadian Forces Air Command, is one of three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
are frequent visitors for example. Cargo traffic has also become another stronghold of Prestwick with the vast majority of Scotland's Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
Freighter traffic entering via the airport. On the 5th of September 2009 the A380 approached and took off from the airport
The airport is privately owned
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
by Infratil
Infratil
Infratil Limited is a New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company. It owns several airports, electricity generators and retailers, and a public transport business, with operations in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Infratil was founded by Lloyd Morrison, a Wellington-based merchant...
, a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
investment company
Investment company
An investment company is a company whose main business is holding securities of other companies purely for investment purposes. The investment company invests money on behalf of its shareholders who in turn share in the profits and losses....
which also owns Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is a secondary hub and focus city for Air New Zealand and its subsidiaries...
and Kent International Airport
Kent International Airport
Manston - Kent's International Airport is an airport located at Manston in the District of Thanet within Kent, England, northeast of Canterbury. It was formerly called RAF Manston , and was also known as London Manston Airport...
at Manston Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
. In April 2005, Infratil completed a major £3 million refurbishment of the terminal building, and also controversially rebranded the airport using the phrase "Pure Dead Brilliant", taken straight from the Glasgow patter
Glasgow patter
Glaswegian or The Glasgow Patter is a dialect spoken in and around Glasgow, Scotland. In addition to local West Mid Scots, the dialect has Highland English and Hiberno-English influences, owing to the speech of Highlanders and Irish people, who migrated in large numbers to the Glasgow area in the...
. Some of this rebranding
Rebranding
Rebranding is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors....
has been controversial, in particular the redecoration of the airport bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
. The bar was rebranded in February 2006 with a logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
depicting a man in a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
, unconscious with an empty bottle of whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
. Despite objections that it promoted the wrong image of Scotland to foreign visitors and embarrassed local travellers, the airport management insisted the logo was "fun and visually stimulating". However, the logo was removed on March 3, 2006, a matter of weeks after its introduction, after the intervention of the South Ayrshire Licensing Board who said the logo trivialised excessive drinking.
On 6 July 2005, Prestwick Airport became the entry point into Scotland for the world's most powerful leaders on the eve of the 31st G8 summit
31st G8 summit
The 31st G8 summit was held from July 6 to July 8, 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, United Kingdom and hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair...
which was being held in Gleneagles
Gleneagles, Scotland
Gleneagles is a glen which connects with Glen Devon to form a pass through the Ochil Hills of Perth and Kinross in Scotland...
. Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
implemented an unprecedented level of security around the airport for the duration of the summit. Officers from police forces throughout the UK were drafted in to assist in the operation, including armed officers. In preparation for the landing of Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
, carrying then US president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, the A77 which runs past the end of the main runway, was controversially closed while the aircraft was on final approach
Final approach (aviation)
A final approach is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing. In aviation radio terminology, it is often shortened to "final".In a standard airport landing pattern, which is usually used under visual meteorological conditions , aircraft turn from base leg to final within one to two miles...
.
Since 2007 the airport has occasionally been used by BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
motoring TV show Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
as the location for various stunts and experiments. The most well known of which was inspired by a scene in the movie Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
and featured both a Ford Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
The Mondeo was launched on 8 January 1993, and sales began on 22 March 1993. Available as a four-door saloon, a five-door hatchback, and a five-door estate, all models for the European market were produced at Ford's plant in the Belgian city of Genk...
and a Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...
parked behind the engines of a Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
, in an experiment to investigate if the thrust from the aircraft four jet engines really could lift a car off the ground.
Passenger
Freight
Air Foyle HeavyLift
For the Australian Cargo Airline see: HeavyLift Cargo AirlinesAir Foyle HeavyLift was an aviation company based in Bishop's Stortford, United Kingdom. It specialized in heavy air cargo services. It was the worldwide sales agent for Antonov Airlines of Kiev, Ukraine...
and Volga-Dnepr
Volga-Dnepr
Volga-Dnepr Airlines, LLC is an airline based in Ulyanovsk, Russia. It operates scheduled and charter passenger and cargo services, but specialises in outsize cargo operations using the world's largest fleet of Antonov An-124 aircraft. It is a world leader in the global market for the movement of...
are also occasional users of Prestwick with Antonov An-124
Antonov An-124
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed by the Ukrainian SSR's Antonov design bureau, then part of the Soviet Union. It is the world's largest ever serially-manufactured cargo airplane and world's second largest operating cargo aircraft...
aircraft.
Facts and figures
- Operating hours - 24 hours
- Passengers per year - over 2,400,000 (2007)
- Airlines - 9
- Total Aircraft movements - over 47,000 per year (2007)
- Destinations - 36 (7 June)
- Aircraft types - Boeing 737-800, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 747-200, Antonov12,124,225, ATR 72
- Number of Stands - 7 nose in PAPA/AGIS (1A,1,2,3,4,7,8) 5 Stands assisted by Ground Operations (5,6,9,10,11)
- Scheduled Destinations - 32
Passenger figures
| Year | Passengers | Percentage of UK airport passengers | Route launches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 11, 000 | 0.0 | |
| 1993 | 10,000 | 0.0 | |
| 1994 | 135,000 | 0.1 | Dublin |
| 1995 | 313,000 | 0.2 | London Stansted |
| 1996 | 522,000 | 0.4 | |
| 1997 | 567, 000 | 0.4 | |
| 1998 | 558,000 | 0.4 | Paris |
| 1999 | 702,000 | 0.4 | |
| 2000 | 905,000 | 0.5 | |
| 2001 | 1,232,000 | 0.7 | |
| 2002 | 1,486,000 | 0.8 | Oslo |
| 2003 | 1,854,000 | 0.9 | Barcelona, Bournemouth, Shannon, Gothenburg, |
| 2004 | 2,159,000 | 1.0 | |
| 2005 | 2,405,000 | 1.1 | Krakow |
| 2006 | 2,395,000 | 1.0 | Derry, Gdansk, Warsaw, Amsterdam |
| 2007 | 2,421,000 | 1.0 | Belfast, Cork, Kaunas, Budapest, Grenoble |
| 2008 | 2,415,755 | 1.0 | |
| 2009 | 1,817,727 | 0.8 | |
| 2010 | 1,662,744 | ||
| Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | % Change 2009 / 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London Stansted London Stansted Airport -Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures... |
224,570 | 19.3 |
| 2 |  DublinDublin Airport Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon... |
176,334 | 8.4 |
| 3 |  Girona |
102,669 | 0.1 |
| 4 | Malaga Málaga Airport Málaga Airport , also known as Malaga Costa Del Sol Airport and Pablo Ruiz Picasso Airport, is the fourth busiest airport in Spain after Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. It is an important airport for Spanish tourism as it is the main international airport serving the Costa Del Sol.... |
85,293 | 83.4 |
| 5 | Tenerife South Tenerife South Airport Tenerife South Airport , previously known as Tenerife South-Reina Sofia Airport, is one of two international airports located on the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands . Between its opening and the end of 2006, a total of 173,912,207 passengers passed through the airport... |
80,310 | 108.6 |
| 6 |  Paris Beauvais |
77,163 | 47.7 |
| 7 | Alicante Alicante Airport Alicante Airport , , originally named El Altet, is the sixth busiest airport in Spain, and the main airport for the Province of Alicante and the Region of Murcia. The airport is situated southwest of Alicante and east of Elche in the municipality of Elche on Mediterranean coast. Up to eighty... |
76,213 | 710.7 |
| 8 | Palma de Mallorca Palma de Mallorca Airport Palma de Mallorca Airport is an airport located east of Palma, Majorca, adjacent to the village of Can Pastilla. Also known as Son Sant Joan Airport or Aeroport de Son Sant Joan, it is the third largest airport in Spain, after Madrid's Barajas Airport and Barcelona Airport... |
68,382 | 2110.1 |
| 9 |  FaroFaro Airport -Incidents and accidents:*On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 skidded off the runway in bad weather at Faro Airport killing 54 passengers and two crew out of a total of 340 people on board.... |
63,193 | 82.1 |
| 10 | Belfast City | 61,228 | 33.2 |
| 11 | City of Derry City of Derry Airport City of Derry Airport is an airport located northeast of Derry, Northern Ireland. It is located on the south bank of Lough Foyle, a short distance from the village of Eglinton and from the city centre... |
55,031 | 7.2 |
| 12 |  Riga |
47,249 | 29.2 |
| 13 |  Brussels Charleroi |
47,088 | 20.5 |
| 14 | Murcia |
43,639 | 13.7 |
| 15 |  Wroclaw |
42,899 | 9.9 |
| 16 |  GothenburgGothenburg City Airport Gothenburg City Airport or Göteborg City Airport , formerly known as Säve Flygplats, is Gothenburg's second international airport, located north-west from the centre of Gothenburg on the island of Hisingen, Bohuslän, Sweden. It is located within the borders of Gothenburg Municipality, hence its... |
40,890 | 23.7 |
| 17 | Warsaw |
36,215 | 12.9 |
| 18 |  Milan Bergamo |
35,920 | 23.1 |
| 19 | Gdansk |
33,433 | 37.1 |
| 20 | Lanzarote Arrecife Airport -Statistics:-Accidents and incidents:*On 31 October 2008, an Air Europa flight from Glasgow overran the runway. No injuries were reported amongst the 74 passengers and crew.-External links:* *... |
30,578 | 466.7 |
Future
A multimillion pound plan to double the size of the departure lounge has been proposed. Prestwick has pledged to be ready and willing to handle the Airbus A380Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
. A two storey building is being considered to replace the current arrivals and departure halls. One floor would be used for departures and the other for arrivals. It would also raise the amount of aircraft stands from 6 to 12. This process will take 18 months (Works not yet started May 2011).An Airbus A380 made an approach & go round at Prestwick Airport for the first time on the 5 September 2009.
The car park, and A79
A79 road
The A79 road is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom. It runs through Prestwick and Ayr, it is about long, making it the second shortest 2 digit road in the UK.The A79 has also given its name to a song by the Prestwick band 'The KKP'....
outside the terminal building has recently been redeveloped due to new rules and regulation put in place by the Government after Glasgow's terrorist attack.
Ryanair are also in the process of building a 6,000 sq/m aircraft maintenance hangar at a cost of £8million and will bring 200 engineering jobs to the area. This is Ryanair's second hangar and will mean the majority of Ryanair's fleet will be maintained at Prestwick.
Transport links
Despite being further away from the city of GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
than Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
, Prestwick is well patronised with convenient public transport options. A forty minute train journey from Glasgow Central to the airport can even be quicker than the equivalent direct bus journey from the city centre to Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
/, although by train, it is marginally over ten minutes from Glasgow Central
Glasgow Central
Glasgow Central has more than one meaning:*Glasgow Central railway station, a railway station in Glasgow, Scotland*Glasgow Central , a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1885 to 1997 and from 2005 to present...
Station to Paisley Gilmour Street, from where the bus connection to Glasgow Airport takes only another ten minutes.
Rail
Prestwick airport is the only airport in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to have its own railway station, Glasgow Prestwick Airport railway station, which was built by the airport in 1994. The station is connected to the terminal by an enclosed walkway over the A79 road
A79 road
The A79 road is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom. It runs through Prestwick and Ayr, it is about long, making it the second shortest 2 digit road in the UK.The A79 has also given its name to a song by the Prestwick band 'The KKP'....
, and platforms are easily accessed by stairs, escalators and lifts. The station continues to be owned and operated by the Airport, and not by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
or First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
.
All services from the station are operated by First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
. The most frequent services are on the electrified route between Glasgow Central and Ayr
Ayr railway station
Ayr railway station serves the town of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated in Smith Street, off Burns Statue Square. The station, which is managed by First ScotRail, is on the Ayrshire Coast Line, south-west of Glasgow Central railway station....
on the Ayrshire Coast Line
Ayrshire Coast Line
The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow...
. Trains run half-hourly Monday to Saturday (and Sunday during the summer) and hourly on Sunday. There are also less frequent services to Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
. All passengers receive 50% off the standard adult single train fare between the airport and any destination in Scotland when they show a valid itinerary for that day. New routes are also marked with a promotional period (normally 6 months after launch) during which time rail travel is free to and from the airport.
The railway station will be extended about 45 meters, so longer trains can handle more people.
Bus
Buses to Prestwick Airport are operated by Stagecoach Western and Dodds of Troon, with regular semi-fast services to GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
.
Road
Prestwick airport operate their own car parks and offer both long- and short-term parking. Shuttle Bus services operate 24 hours a day, between the terminal and the car park.Incidents and accidents
- The first serious air accident at Prestwick was the KLM disaster on 20 October 1948. A Lockheed ConstellationLockheed ConstellationThe Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines crashed in a field 5 miles north-east of the airport while attempting to approach in bad weather. The aircraft had already aborted a landing due to strong crosswinds and had negotiated with air traffic control to approach using a different runway. It was on that approach that the Constellation struck power cables and crashed. A combination of poor weather and pilot error were to blame for the crash, with the flight crew having an incorrect above ground levelAbove ground levelIn aviation and atmospheric sciences, an altitude is said to be above ground level when it is measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to above mean sea level , or in broadcast engineering, height above average terrain...
reading. 30 passengers and 4 crew died in the accident, 6 having survived the initial impact but having suffered fatal injuries. - Early on Christmas Day 1954, at 0330 hours, a British Overseas Airways CorporationBritish Overseas Airways CorporationThe British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
Boeing 377 StratocruiserBoeing 377 StratocruiserThe Boeing 377, also called the Stratocruiser, was a large long range airliner which was built after World War II. It was developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter, a military derivative of the B-29 Superfortress used for troop transport...
crashed on landing at Prestwick, killing 28 of the 36 passengers and crew onboard. The aircraft had been en route from London to New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, when, on approach to Prestwick, entered a steep descent before levelling out too late and too severely, hitting the ground short of the runway. A number of factors have been attributed to the cause of the crash, including pilot fatigue (the captain was well over his duty limit due to the aircraft being delayed), the landing lights at Prestwick being out of action due to repair and the First Officer either not hearing a command from the Captain for landing lights (which may have helped judge the low cloud base) or mistakenly hitting the flaps, causing the aircraft to stall.
- The Stratocruiser had been carrying uncut diamonds in registered mailRegistered mailRegistered mail describes letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and need a chain of custody that provides more control than regular mail. The posted item has its details recorded in a register to enable its location to be tracked, sometimes with added insurance to cover loss...
, then valued at over £1 million, though it would be several days after the accident that investigators had any hint of the cargo being carried. An extensive search was carried out in the area surrounding the crash for several weeks, resulting in over 90% of the diamonds being recovered. The KLM Constellation that crashed near Prestwick 6 years earlier had also been carrying diamonds, then valued at over £5000.- On 28 April 1958 a British European AirwaysBritish European AirwaysBritish European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
crashed just outside AyrAyrAyr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
on a repositioning flight from London after the pilot misread the altimeterAltimeterAn altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
by 10,000 ft. The aircraft skidded across the ground before catching fire. All 5 crew survived. - A British AirtoursBritish AirtoursBritish Airtours was a UK charter airline with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airport.Originally established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of then state-owned British Airways following the British European Airways — British Overseas Airways...
Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
crashed during crew training at Prestwick on 17 March 1977. The aircraft had been simulating an engine shutdown on take-off, causing it to tend to the left. Though the instructor took control of the aircraft, the engine simulating shutdown struck the runway and the aeroplane yawed and rolled violently to the right, causing the undercarriageUndercarriageThe undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
to collapse and resulting in the engines being ripped off. None of the 4 crew were injured and there were no casualties on the ground. - Another simulated engine failure resulted in the crash of a BAe Jetstream on 6 October 1992, killing both crew members. While attempting to trace which engine had simulated failure, the co-pilot had forgotten to retract the undercarriage. While retracting the undercarriage, the aircraft stalled, rolled, and struck the ground inverted.
- Prestwick and London Stansted AirportLondon Stansted Airport-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
in EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, are the only two airports in the UK designated for "at risk" flights. In April 2006, two aircraft were diverted to Prestwick under RAF escort in separate incidents; a Ryanair flight between ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Dublin, and an Aer ArannAer ArannAer Arann is a regional airline based in Dublin, Ireland. Aer Arann operates scheduled services from Ireland and the Isle of Man to destinations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France, with a fleet of 18 aircraft. Aer Arann has expanded from a single aircraft to Ireland's third largest airline...
flight from LutonLondon Luton AirportLondon Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...
to GalwayGalwayGalway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
. In both instances, a note found by cabin crew warning of a bomb on board turned out to be hoaxHoaxA hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
es. Bomb disposalBomb disposalBomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
cover for Prestwick, and indeed for the whole of Scotland, is covered by an army troop from 11 EOD Regiment11 EOD Regiment11 EOD Regiment is a regiment of the British Army's Royal Logistic Corps responsible for Explosive Ordnance Disposal . The unit is manned by Ammunition Technical Officers and Ammunition Technicians...
of the Royal Logistic CorpsRoyal Logistic CorpsThe Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
, based in Edinburgh. - During the 1989 Prestwick Air show, a Hawker Sea FuryHawker Sea FuryThe Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...
had to be ditched in the sea as the port landing gearUndercarriageThe undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
was stuck. The pilot bailed out to safety.
- On 28 April 1958 a British European Airways
See also
- Orangefield House, South AyrshireOrangefield House, South AyrshireOrangefield House, previously known as 'Monkton House', was located near the village of Monkton, Ayrshire in the Parish of Monkton and Prestwick in South Ayrshire, Scotland; the settlement borders upon Glasgow Prestwick Airport, for which it served for a while as the control tower.-James...
- the former control tower - Fail MonasteryFail MonasteryFail Monstery, occasionally known as Failford Abbey, had a dedication to 'Saint Mary', and was located at Fail on the bank of the Water of Fail, Parish of Tarbolton near the town of Tarbolton, South Ayrshire...
- remains of used as foundations for the airport
Further reading
- Ewart, J (1985) Prestwick Airport Golden Jubilee 1935-1985
- Berry, P (2005) Prestwick Airport and Scottish Aviation