Glasgow Airport, also known as Glasgow International Airport () and formerly Abbotsinch Airport, is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

located in

Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; ; ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Water, a tributary of the River ...

, Scotland, west of

Glasgow city centre Glasgow city centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the Saltmarket, High Street and Castle Street to the east, the River Clyde to the south, and the M8 motorway to the west and north. It is made up of t ...

. In 2019 it handled 8.84 million passengers, an 8.4 per cent annual decrease, making it the second-busiest in Scotland, after

Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...

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

AGS Airports AGS Airports Limited is the owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports. Based in Leeds, England, it was formed in September 2014 by Ferrovial and Macquarie Group. In January 2025 it was sold to AviAlliance. History Aberdeen, Glasgow ...

, which also owns and operates

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

airports. It was previously owned and operated by

Heathrow Airport Holdings Heathrow Airport Holdings is a company that operates and manages Heathrow Airport based in London, England. It was formed by the privatisation of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher's privatisation of governmen ...

(formerly known as BAA).

Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline headquartered at Glasgow Airport in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The airline primarily operates domestic flights within the United Kingdom. It is the largest regional airline in Scotland by passenger ...

are headquartered at the airport and have a maintenance hangar here.

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

Jet2.com Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost airline based at Leeds Bradford Airport, England. It offers scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind easyJet and Br ...

and

TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomson Airways Limited) is the British arm of the TUI Airline group, which is owned and operated by the TUI Group. They offer scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in E ...

also use Glasgow as a hub. It was opened in 1966 and originally flights only operated to other places in the UK and Europe. It began to offer flights to elsewhere — flights that previously used

Glasgow Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport (), commonly referred to as Prestwick Airport, is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick, and southwest of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the less busy of the two ...

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

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

and freight operators.

History

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

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

, between the

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

and the

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

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

No. 602 Squadron RAuxAF 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron. Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron. During the Second World War, ...

(City of Glasgow) of the

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

moved its

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

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

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

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

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

1940–1960

In 1940 a

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

training unit was formed, which trained both

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

crews under

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

. The Admiralty was granted a lodger facility for a RN Air Section at Royal Air Force Abbotsinch from 19 June 1940. The airbase was transferred from No. 19 Group RAF to the Admiralty on 11 August 1943, known as Royal Naval Air Station Abbotsinch, (or RNAS Abbotsinch). Its primary function was an Aircraft Maintenance Yard and Reserve Aircraft Storage and Salvage. On 20 September it was commissioned HMS ''Sanderling''. During the 1950s the airfield housed a large aircraft storage unit and squadrons of the

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

. The Royal Navy left in October 1963. The name

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

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

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

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

1960–1970

In the 1960s

Glasgow Corporation Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also kno ...

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

Renfrew Airport Renfrew Airport was an airport located in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. The airport served the city of Glasgow until it was decommissioned in 1966 and was replaced by Glasgow Airport located 2 kilometres away in Abbotsinch. History Military use Alr ...

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

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

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

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

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

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

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

Her Majesty's Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

had already committed millions into rebuilding

fit for the "

jet age The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines and the social and cultural changes fostered by commercial jet travel. Jet airliners were able to fly higher, faster, and farth ...

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

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

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

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

beginning services using

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

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

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. The political rows over Glasgow and

Prestwick Prestwick () is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small vi ...

airports continued, with Prestwick enjoying a monopoly over

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

traffic (under the 1946 US-UK

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

known as the

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

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

1970s–1990s

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

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

in the late 1980s, as BAA plc, it consolidated its airport portfolio and sold Prestwick Airport. BAA embarked on a massive redevelopment plan for Glasgow Airport in 1989. In the early 1990s Glasgow became the first UK airport, and one of the first in Europe (after Israel) to screen all baggage. Until this time, only 'high-risk' flights had their hand luggage and hold luggage checked. This was a result of the bombing of

Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of th ...

on 21 December 1988 over the Scottish town of

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...

. An extended terminal building was created by building a pre-fabricated metal structure around the front of the original Basil Spence building, hence screening much of its distinctive

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

style architecture from view, with the void between the two structures joined by a glass atrium and walkway. Spence's original concrete facade which once looked onto Caledonia Road now fronts the

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

desks. The original building can be seen more clearly from the rear, with the mock barrel-vaulted roof visible when airside. A dedicated international departure lounge and pier were added at the western side of the building, leaving the facility with a total of 38

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

, bringing its capacity up to nine million passengers per year. In 2003 BAA completed redevelopment work on a satellite building (called "T2", formerly the St Andrews Building), to provide a dedicated check-in facility for low-cost airlines, principally

. By 1996 Glasgow was handling over 5.5 million passengers per year, making it the fourth-busiest in the UK.

Post–2000

It serves a variety of destinations throughout Canada, Europe and the Middle East. The terminal consists of three piers; the West Pier, Central Pier and East Pier. The West Pier, commonly known as the International Pier, was built as part of the 1989 extension project and is the principal international and long haul departure point. All but two of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. This pier has stands 27 - 36. In 2019, the pier received the ability to facilitate the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

following an £8million upgrade. The Central Pier is part of the original 1966 building. The main user of the pier is

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

, who tend to use the majority of its gates, with London shuttles (to

Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

Gatwick Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-bu ...

and London City) making up almost all its traffic. The

lounge is located on this pier, across from gate 15.

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

and

also operate from the central pier. Most of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. This pier has stands 14–26. The now defunct airlines

Flybe Flybe may refer to: * Flybe (1979–2020) Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, was a British airline based in Exeter, England. Launched in 1979 as Jersey European Airways, and renamed Flybe in 2002, at various points it was the largest ind ...

and British Midland (bmi) were once major users of the Central Pier. The East Pier, constructed in the mid-1970s, was originally used for international flights but in recent years has been re-developed for use by low-cost airlines. None of the stands on this pier are equipped with airbridges. The main users of this pier are

and

. In 2015, a £3million extension was added to the pier, creating space for 750,000 extra passengers a year. This pier has stands 112. In late 2007 work commenced on Skyhub (located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2) which created a single, purpose-built security screening area in place of the previous individual facilities for each of the three piers, the other side effect being an enlarged duty-free shopping area created by taking most of the previous landside shopping and restaurant facilities airside. This new arrangement also frees up space in the departure lounges through the removal of the separate duty-free shops in the West and Central Piers. This however meant that the former public viewing areas of the apron are now airside, making the airport inaccessible to aviation enthusiasts and spectators. Future growth is hampered by the airport's location, which is constrained by the M8 motorway to the south, the town of

Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...

to the east and the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

to the north. At present the areas of

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

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

Bearsden Bearsden ( ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. The Roman Empire, Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of ...

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

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

and

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

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

, which now serves a wider range of European destinations and has grown to overtake Glasgow as Scotland's busiest airport. The

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

announced in 2002 that a rail line – known as the

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

(GARL) – would be built from

Glasgow Central station Glasgow Central (), usually referred to in Scotland as just Central or Central Station, is one of two principal mainline rail terminals in Glasgow, Scotland. The railway station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 1 August 1879 and is one ...

to Glasgow Airport. The rail link was to be completed by 2012 with the first trains running early in 2013. In 2009, however, it was announced by the Scottish Government that the plan had been cancelled. Currently, the airport is easily accessible by road due with direct access to the adjoining M8 motorway. It is also served by a frequent bus service, the Glasgow Airport Express, which operates services to the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

. The service is run by

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

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

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

, previously a

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

has a maintenance

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

at the airport, capable of carrying out overhaul work on

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

, as well as a cargo facility. The RAF also has a unit based within the airport – The Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron – to provide flying training to university students who plan to join the RAF. In 2007 Glasgow became the second-busiest airport in Scotland as passenger numbers were surpassed by those at

2007 terrorist attack

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

Jeep Cherokee The Jeep Cherokee is a line of sport utility vehicles (SUV) manufactured and marketed by Jeep over five generations. Marketed initially as a variant of the Jeep Wagoneer (SJ), the Cherokee has evolved from a full-size SUV to one of the first ...

was driven into the entrance of Main Terminal. Two men, one alight, fled the vehicle before being apprehended by a group of police officers, airport security officers and witnesses. One of the men died in the following months due to his injuries. New barriers and security measures have since been added.

Airline expansion

Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...

temporarily moved its base of operations from

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

to Glasgow due to the

2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull Between March and June 2010 a series of Volcano, volcanic events at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland caused Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, enormous disruption to air travel across Western Europe. The disruptions st ...

. On 10 April 2014 the airline

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

operated an

to Glasgow to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Glasgow–Dubai route, and was the first time an A380 had visited a Scottish airport. In July 2014 Emirates opened a dedicated lounge at the airport for First and Business class passengers. It is located at the top of the West Pier. In October 2014 Heathrow Airport Holdings reached an agreement to sell the airport, together with Southampton and Aberdeen, to a consortium of Ferrovial and

Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...

for £1 billion. In 2017

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

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

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

Cargo

General aviation

Gama aviation and air ambulance

The Scottish Air Ambulance Services (SAS) contract involves the provision of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in addition to the coordination and operational management of all flights. This long-term contract resulted in the company investing in the development of new infrastructure at the airport, with the creation of the Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) facility.

Flying schools

Glasgow Airport is also the home of 2 flying schools, those being Glasgow Flying Club and Leading Edge Flight Training.

Future

Investment area

The Glasgow Airport Investment Area is a £39.1 million project to administer infrastructure and environmental improvements in the surrounding airport area to facilitate the development of a world-class business and commercial hub in the heart of

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

Expansion plans

In 2005 BAA published a consultation paper for the development of the airport. The consultation paper included proposals for a second runway parallel to and to the north-west of the existing runway 05/23; redevelopment and enlargement of the East (low-cost) pier to connect directly with Terminal 2; and an additional International Pier to the west of the existing International Pier. There were plans for a new rail terminal, joined to the airport's passenger terminal and

Multistorey car park A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...

. On 29 November 2006 the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

gave the go-ahead for the new railway station as part of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link to Glasgow Central station, originally due for completion in 2011. However, on 17 September 2009 the rail link was cancelled as part of public spending cuts and escalating costs. BAA's plans, which are expected to cost some £290 million over the next 25 years, come in response to a forecasted trebling of annual passenger numbers passing through the airport by 2030. The current figure of 9.4 million passengers passing through the airport is expected to rise to more than 24 million by 2030. As of late 2017, there are plans to build a light rail link that will connect the city centre to the airport via

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

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

project. Since then this plan has been implemented into the lager Clyde Metro project. On 23 March 2025

AviAlliance AviAlliance is an airport management company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company was founded in 1997 as Hochtief AirPort, a subsidiary of the international construction service provider Hochtief. Since 27 September 2013, the compan ...

announced that it would be investing £350 million across

, with the majority being invested in Glasgow Airport. Plans include work to enable arriving aircraft to be turned around faster, expanding the airside part of the terminal beyond security to add more shops and places to eat and drink, the west end of the check-in hall to be expanded, along with the T2 check in area at the east end of the building. The three piers of aircraft boarding gates will be overhauled for the first time in 30 years. This work was due to commence in 2030, will now start in 2025 and is scheduled to be completed by 2027.

Proposed rail/metro link

Glasgow_Subway_and_proposed_Airport_Rail_Map

Plans for a rail link from the airport to

Glasgow Central railway station Glasgow Central (), usually referred to in Scotland as just Central or Central Station, is one of two principal mainline rail terminals in Glasgow, Scotland. The railway station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 1 August 1879 and is one ...

were proposed in the 2000s, shelved in 2009 and then resurrected though progress towards the proposal has yet to come to fruition. In recent years a Larger scale plan known as

Clyde Metro Clyde Metro is a proposed multimodal mass-transit system in Scotland for the city of Glasgow and the surrounding area. It is named after the River Clyde, which flows through the city. History In 2022, a Scottish Government review of public transp ...

, currently in the planning stages aims to create a new metro system for the

Glasgow city region The Glasgow City Region (previously Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Region, also known as Clydeside) is a somewhat urbanised city region in the western central belt of Scotland nestled in the River Clyde, Clyde Valley and consisting of the followin ...

which includes a link to the airport, the plan previously being proposed and led by

Transport Scotland Transport Scotland () is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an executive agency of the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland, an execut ...

is now being developed by

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a regional transport partnership for the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. It is responsible for planning and coordinating regional transport, especially the public transport system in the ar ...

and is currently in the case for investment stage.

Statistics

Annual traffic

Busiest routes

Accidents and incidents

*A Norwegian Arado Ar 196A crashed near Glasgow in April 1940. * On 3 September 1999, a

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

carrying nine

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

staff from Glasgow to

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

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

determined the aircraft had developed an engine malfunction during takeoff. Although the captain decided to return to the airfield, he mistakenly identified the working engine as the faulty one and shut it down, causing the aircraft to crash. A

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

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

into the entrance of the main terminal which set the car on fire. There was some damage to the airport. One of the perpetrators died in hospital and the others were jailed. * In August 2019, two drunken United Airlines pilots tried to fly a plane but were stopped by local authorities. They were arrested for being drunk. The plane was to leave for New York City.

Ground transport

Bus

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

under contract to Glasgow Airport. Started in 2011, the service runs direct via the M8 motorway having previously been operated by

Arriva Scotland West Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in Inchinnan, near Paisley, Scotland. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by Arriva. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to McGill's Bus Ser ...

under the name Glasgow Flyer.

McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...

also operate service 757 linking the airport with Paisley,

Erskine Erskine may refer to: Places * Erskine, Renfrewshire Erskine (, , ) is a town in the council areas of Scotland, council area of Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire (historic), historic county of counties of Scotland, the same name, situated in th ...

and

with this service previously being known as service 300 under Arriva Scotland West. In April 2025

Flixbus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

announced they would operate coach services from Aberdeen to Glasgow Airport via

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Perth (Scotland) and

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Road

Glasgow Airport is the only airport in Scotland with direct motorway access, being right next to the M8 motorway making it extremely easy and simple to get to the city centre.

Rail

The closest railway station to the airport is Paisley Gilmour Street station with easy access for walking and cycling as well as a bus service 757 operated by McGill’s from the terminal to the station.

References

Sources

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

External links

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