Glasgow Prestwick Airport

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Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox airport

Glasgow Prestwick Airport (Template:Airport codes), commonly referred to as Prestwick Airport, is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated Template:Convert northeast of the town of Prestwick, and Template:Convert southwest of Glasgow, Scotland.<ref name="aip"/> It is the less busy of the two airports serving the western part of Scotland's Central Belt, after Glasgow Airport in Renfrewshire, within the Greater Glasgow conurbation. The airport serves the urban cluster surrounding Ayr, including Kilmarnock, Irvine, Ardrossan, Troon, Saltcoats, Stevenston, Kilwinning, and Prestwick itself.

The airport is Scotland's fifth-busiest in terms of passenger traffic, although it is the largest in terms of land area. Passenger traffic peaked at 2.4 million in 2007 following a decade of rapid growth, driven in part by the boom in low-cost carriers, particularly Ryanair, which uses the airport as an operating base. In recent years, passenger traffic has declined; around 670,000Template:Nbsppassengers passed through the airport in 2016.<ref name="stats" /> There has been public debate over the association of the airport with Glasgow, which is 30 miles away from the airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a result, suggestions have been made for the airport to be renamed Robert Burns International Airport, however, this was ruled out by the Scottish Government in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Prestwick has a long historical connection with transatlantic flight, being part of the Atlantic Bridge route between Europe and North America, and remains an important hub for the United States Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force, who use it as a refuelling stop.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The airport is also the favoured airport used by Air Force One whenever the President of the United States is visiting Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The operations centre of Shanwick Oceanic Control is located close to the airport, which controls all air traffic on the north eastern quadrant of the North Atlantic Ocean, including Scottish airspace (Scottish Area Control Centre), as well as the airspace over much of the north of England, the Midlands and the north of Wales.<ref name="nats1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NATS">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early history

Origins and passenger facilities

Passenger facilities were added in 1938. These were used until further investment made Prestwick compatible with jet transportation. The October 1946 USAAF diagram shows a Template:Convert runway 14/32, with a Template:Convert runway 8/26 crossing just west of its midpoint. In 1958, runway 13/31 was Template:Convert long; in May 1960, the runway's extension to Template:Convert opened.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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, for the main road from Monkton into Prestwick now crossed the tarmac of the runway. This was controlled by a "level crossing" system until a new perimeter road was completed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Military use

Royal Air Force controllers at the airport tower, 1944

In the Second World War the RAF controlled trans-Atlantic flights from Prestwick.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Until February 2016, part of the Prestwick site was occupied by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm with RNAS Prestwick, officially known by the Royal Navy as HMS Gannet, where a detachment of three Sea Kings provided a search and rescue role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and Template:Convert past the Irish coast. Additionally, Gannet SAR provided a medical evacuation service to the Scottish island communities. Personnel at the base numbered 15 officers, 11 ratings, 28 civil servants and 50 civilian staff. The crews regularly featured as part of the popular Channel 5 documentary series Highland Emergency. In 2009, the unit broke a new record as they were tasked to 447 call-outs, 20% of the UK's total military SAR call outs for 2009 and making them, for the second year in succession, the busiest search and rescue base in the UK.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

There was controversy over the airport's use in the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights, as aircraft had used the airport as a stop-over point.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Since November 2013, when the Scottish government took control of the facility, service contracts have been established with the USAF, USN, USMC, Defense Logistics Agency and National Guard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Aircraft at Prestwick Airport, July 1973

Glasgow Prestwick Airport is the only place in the United Kingdom where Elvis Presley (who had distant Scottish ancestry) was known to have set foot, when the United States Air Force transport plane carrying him home to the United States stopped to refuel in 1960, en route from West Germany.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, on 21 April 2008, during a BBC Radio 2 interview with Ken Bruce, theatre impresario and chairman of Everton FC, Bill Kenwright, said that Elvis actually spent a day in the UK being shown around London by Tommy Steele in 1958.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Commercial use

In 1945, American Overseas Airlines began regular transatlantic commercial flights began between Prestwick and New York.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> AOA was later acquired by Pan Am, which used Prestwick as a stop between Europe and North America into the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> BOAC also used Prestwick as a stop between London and New York in the late 1940s and 1950s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1980s, Prestwick continued to see scheduled transatlantic flights by Air Canada and Northwest Airlines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These carriers both moved their operations to Glasgow Airport after government restrictions were lifted in 1990.<ref name="HeraldNorthwest2014" /> Until 1990, the British government required all transatlantic flights to and from Scotland to use Prestwick.<ref name="HeraldNorthwest2014">Template:Cite web</ref>

Recent history

1990s

1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "Canadian entrepreneur"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue".<ref name="ayrshirepost.net">Template:Cite news</ref> Hudson initiated the construction of the airport's railway station on the existing Ayrshire Coast Line (Glasgow–Ayr), which runs past the airfield, making it the first Scottish airport with its own railway station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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".<ref name="ayrshirepost.net"/>

In 1994, Irish budget airline Ryanair opened a route to the airport from Dublin, followed by a second route in 1995 to London Stansted. In 1998, a third route to Paris-Beauvais was introduced and the airport was sold by Hudson to the Scottish transport company Stagecoach Group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2000s

Check-in area at Prestwick Airport

In 2001, the airport was purchased by Infratil,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a New Zealand company and majority owner of Wellington International Airport. Infratil also owned Manston Airport until November 2013. Manston was sold to a shell company owned by Ann Gloag, a co-founder of Stagecoach, Prestwick's previous owner. In April 2005, Infratil completed a major refurbishment of the terminal building, and rebranded the airport using the phrase "pure dead brilliant", taken straight from the Glasgow patter. Some of the 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, it was removed a matter of weeks after installation, after the South Ayrshire Licensing Board said the logo trivialised excessive drinking.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The "pure dead brilliant" branding was removed from the main terminal building in January 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The terminal building in 2002

Since 2007, the airport has occasionally been used by the BBC TV programme Top Gear as the location for various stunts and experiments. The best-known stunt was a scene similar to one featured in the film 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 whether the thrust from the aircraft's four jet engines really could lift a car off the ground.<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

The car park and A79 outside the terminal building have been reconstructed to comply with governmental movement and access restrictions mandated in the aftermath of the Glasgow International Airport terrorist attack. According to a 2008 Master Plan, the departure lounge is at capacity and congested during peak operations. The plan proposes "a central pier that provides adequate circulation and waiting space prior to boarding the aircraft" to cope with a continuing increase in passenger departures.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010s

Glasgow Prestwick was purchased by the Scottish Government in 2013, and consequently brought under public ownership.

In 2010, NATS, the organisation responsible for en-route air traffic control services to flights within the UK flight information regions, consolidated its air traffic control operations from four facilities to two. The 86,000 square feet (8,000 square metre) operations room<ref name="nats1"/> at Prestwick is solely responsible for all aircraft flying over Scottish aerospace (Scottish Area Control Centre), which includes all aircraft over Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North of England as well as over the North Sea from 2,500 feet up to 66,000 feet. In addition to being responsible for aircraft over Scottish aerospace as defined by the Scottish Area Control Centre, Prestwick is also responsible for the aerospace over much of the north of England, the Midlands and north Wales from 2,500 feet up to 28,500 feet (Manchester Area Control Centre). Its Oceanic Area Control Centre controls the aerospace over the eastern half of the North Atlantic to a designated boundary in place with Iceland.<ref name="NATS"/> With a responsibility of aerospace covering Template:Convert, the operations centre at Prestwick has the largest area of aerospace responsibility in Europe, handing 42% of the total aircraft movement across the United Kingdom.<ref name="nats1"/>

On 8 March 2012, the airport owner Infratil announced that it planned to sell the airfield. The airport remained unsold until October 2013 when the Scottish Government announced it was in negotiations to take the airport back into public ownership.<ref name="infratil.com">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Subsequently, the Scottish Government bought the airport on 22 November 2013 for £1, Infratil having incurred annual losses of £2,000,000. No job losses were anticipated after the government takeover. Then-Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told BBC Scotland that work would then begin on "turning Prestwick around and making it a viable enterprise".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 1 April 2014, the public petition committee at Holyrood heard that The Robert Burns World Federation wished to rename the airport to Robert Burns International Airport.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2014, Ryanair announced the relocation of some routes from Prestwick to Glasgow International Airport by October 2014; included among them were flights to Warsaw and Dublin.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

In November 2014 Donald Trump signed a partnership agreement with Prestwick making it the Scottish base for all Trump Aviation Operations, in order to service his Trump Turnberry golf resort Template:Convert away.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As part of the privatisation of the UK's search and rescue service, Bristow Helicopters based two Sikorsky S-92 helicopters in a new hangar at HMS Gannet. The handover took place in January 2016. In March 2016, the airport revealed new branding and a new look to the inside and outside of the airport building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Arrivals and departures lounge at the airport

In 2015, Glasgow Prestwick Airport was shortlisted as a potential UK Spaceport,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as part of the British commercial spaceport competition. In June 2019, the Scottish government announced that it was putting the airport up for sale. Bidders would be expected to commit to maintaining and developing aviation operations and employment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2020s

In February 2021, the Scottish government announced that a preferred bidder had been selected to buy the airport. The unnamed bidder was believed to be a European transport infrastructure investor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the Scottish government announced in December 2021 that the bid had been rejected, and that the sale would not proceed. The airport would consequently remain in public ownership, but the government stated it was committed to "returning it to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, no private investor has been found yet but there was ongoing debate if the airport is financially viable or will require further loans from the government.<ref>dailybusinessgroup.co.uk - Prestwick Airport ‘has no need for more loans’ 25 January 2023</ref>

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled services to and from Glasgow–Prestwick:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Airport destination list

Cargo

Template:Airport destination list

Statistics

Passengers

Number of passengers<ref group="note" name="stats">Number of passengers including domestic, international and transit counterparts</ref> Number of movements<ref group="note">Number of movements represents total aircraft takeoffs and landings during each year.</ref> Freight
(tonnes)
1997 567,000 63,166 33,874
1998 558,000 54,166 39,600
1999 702,000 54,093 40,845
2000 905,000 44,940 41,450
2001 1,232,000 48,144 43,104
2002 1,486,000 43,190 39,500
2003 1,854,000 57,099 39,975
2004 2,159,000 55,998 34,102
2005 2,405,000 54,996 29,199
2006 2,395,000 48,189 28,537
2007 2,421,000 47,910 31,517
2008 2,415,755 42,708 22,966
2009 1,817,727 34,230 13,385
2010 1,662,744 33,087 12,163
2011 1,297,119 28,131 11,846
2012 1,067,933 25,670 10,314
2013 1,145,836 24,305 9,526
2014 913,685 25,643 12,540
2015 610,837 22,765 11,242
2016 673,232 25,714 10,822
2017 696,309 24,897 11,393
2018 681,718 24,904 13,033
2019 640,455 24,463 13,054
2020 90,790 14,085 12,049
2021 78,069 17,126 16,209
2022 445,211 19,034 15,298
2023 524,880 24,471 10,673
2024 535,570 22,615 9,515
Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority<ref name="stats" />

Routes

Busiest routes to and from Glasgow Prestwick (2024) <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rank Airport Total
passengers		 Change
2023 / 24
1 Tenerife–South 112,404 Template:Increase 15%
2 Alicante 94,581 Template:Increase 11%
3 Palma de Mallorca 62,754 Template:Decrease 2%
4 Málaga 61,975 Template:Decrease 10%
5 Barcelona 47,718 Template:Increase 42%
5 Faro 41,118 Template:Decrease 19%
6 Lanzarote 37,824 Template:Increase 9%
9 Murcia 32,098 Template:Increase 47%
8 Gran Canaria 20,841 Template:Decrease 27%
10 Pisa 19,673 Template:Decrease 2%

Scottish International Airshow

Prestwick Airport used to host a bi-annual air show, the first of which was held on 30 September 1967. While very small in scale compared to such shows as RAF Fairford or Farnborough International Airshow, the Scottish air show attracted up to 100,000 spectators to Prestwick in its heyday in the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The revived Scottish International Airshow was brought back by three Ayrshire aviation and events professionals Danny Anderson, Bob Alexander (2014 and 2015) and Doug Maclean. The events company Zisys Events shouldered the organisation burden and financial risk. It was restarted on 6 and 7 September 2014; an air display was held at the Low green at Ayr Seafront and a static display on 7 September at the airport.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The event included appearances by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, including the only two flying Avro Lancaster bombers, and the last airworthy Avro Vulcan bomber, famous for being part of the UK's Nuclear "V Force" bomber fleet. The second Scottish Airshow was held on 5 and 6 September 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Danny Anderson and Doug Maclean were innovative in their ideas for displays. The 2016 Scottish International Airshow included the first night display in Scotland. It started with the RAF Typhoon doing a first dusk display and ended with the Aerosparx Formation Team flying in darkness and discharging pyrotechnics from the aircraft wing tips.

Between 2014 and 2018 the Scottish International Airshow continued to develop and brought very respected formation teams and vintage aircraft and modern fighter jets from Denmark, Belgium The Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland as well as the highly unusual Swiss Vintage Formation of 3 Beech 18s and a DC3 flying together in a unique display. The attendances continued to rise each year with over 200,000 people reported to attend over 2 days in 2018. The 2019 Airshow was planned to highlight the return to Prestwick of the CF104 Starfighter from Norway and a Spanish Air Force helicopter formation. It was also intended to include a static aircraft display at Glasgow Prestwick Airport. The show was cancelled at an early stage due to a dispute between the organisers and the local Council and the withdrawal of financial support by the Council. The 2020 Covid pandemic meant that there was no display planned.

It was announced that the airshow would return for 2023, organised by South Ayrshire Council and rebranded as The International Ayrshow - Festival Of Flight beginning on the weekend of 8 September 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Incidents and accidents

Ground transport

Road

Glasgow Prestwick Airport connects with the UK motorway network via the A77 on to the M77. This allows Glasgow to be reached by road from the airport in 40 minutes and Edinburgh in just over 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Rail

Template:Main

The airport station

Prior to the opening of Inverness Airport railway station in 2023, Prestwick airport was the only airport in Scotland with its own railway station, Prestwick International Airport railway station, built by the airport in 1994.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station is connected to the terminal by an enclosed walkway over the A79 road, and platforms are accessed by stairs, escalators and lifts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station building continues to be owned and operated by the airport, and not by Network Rail or ScotRail. The track through the station itself remains the responsibility of Network Rail.

Bus

Prestwick International Airport is well-connected by bus services operated by Stagecoach West Scotland.

See also

References

Notes

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Citations

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Sources

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Further reading

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Template:Portal bar Template:Transport in Glasgow Template:Airports in Scotland Template:Airports in the United Kingdom, the British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas TerritoriesTemplate:Public bodies of the Scottish GovernmentTemplate:Authority control

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