The original Glasgow Airport was built and ready to operate by 2nd May 1966 after the close of the old Renfrew Airport.
Both airports were modern and stunning to look at for their time.
Glasgow Airport was first opened by the Queen.(27th June)
The first scheduled flight to land was a BEA Herald carrying 41 passengers from Aberdeen and Edinburgh touching down
at 0821 hrs.
In 1966, the first ever plane to land using the ILS landed at Glasgow, the Trident. Trident G_RPP was later placed
on show next to the taxi-way at Glasgow.
In 1983, 3 Concordes arrived at the airport to celebrate the initiation of the super shuttle service from Glasgow to
London Heathrow.
The old terminal was becoming crowded so an extension was built. The extension would provide check-in facilities and
would be built on-top of the road infront of the airport. The two buildings were connected by an attrium.
Shortly after this was finished, a new International Pier was built. This was in 1993 and enabled more international
flights to arrive and depart from Glasgow.
Some interesting days in the airports history include:
The first ever Boeing 737 at the airport was a Britannia
on the 14th October 1968.
The first widebody aircraft was a Lockheed TriStar on the 17th September 1973.
The first 747 at Glasgow was operated by Alitalia on the 24th October 1975.
On the 2nd of May 1990 flight NW34 touched down from Boston for the first time after trans-Atlantic flights were transfered
from Prestwick to Glasgow.
On the 16th of May Air Canada sent a 767 from Halifax to Glasgow.
This day also saw the start of American Airlines 767 service to Chicago.
British Airways started 3 flights a week to JFK using TriStars.
United Airlines started services to Washington on the 10th of June 1993 using a Boeing 767-200.
The first 777 at Glasgow came curtisy of a medical diversion when a United Airlines flight arrived .
Continental Airlines service to Newark started on the 16th of July 1998 with boeing 757 but loads were so good that an
upgrade to a DC-10 was quickly needed.
All 10 red arrows visiting the airport for the tall ships race at Greenock in 1999.
The champions league final was held at Hampden Stadium in 2002. Crowding the airport with large planes such as 747's,
DC-10'S and lots of smaller aircraft such as 737's and A320's.
In 2003 the airport recorded it's busiest ever day when celtic fans arrived back from their sides defeat in the UEFA cup
final in Seville.
In 2004 a landmark in the airport's history was reached when the first ever direct flights from Scotland to the middle
east were launched. Emirates started their direct service from Glasgow to Dubai using and A330-200 on the 10th of April.
Also in 2004 US Airways started services to Philadelphia using a 767-200.
Currently Glasgow International Aiport
is Scotland's biggest, busiest and best airport. Annually handling over 8 million passengers. Upgrades to all aspects of the
airport including a rail link will be up and running within the next decade.
