Prestwick Airport History

Just 32 miles from the city centre of Glasgow lies Prestwick Airport, the fastest growing airport in Scotland. While the future is looking incredibly bright for this international travel hub, its past has also seen some brilliant sparks of glamour and occasion, including a visit from Elvis.

The 1930s

A few small planes are thought to have started using the space that is now Glasgow Prestwick International Airport around 1934. However, there is some evidence that even before that date, as far back as 1913, the land was being used to fly planes. This would have been only a decade after the Wright Brothers first took to the air.

Before the Second World War began, the site was used as a training airfield. As the war started, it was used to deliver American aircraft. Aircrafts were also produced there by Scottish Aviation Ltd, who by this stage owned the land.

The 1940s

In 1941 the Palace of Engineering, which had originally been built in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, for the 1938 Empire Exhibition, was taken down and rebuilt at Prestwick. The spectacular example of Art Deco architecture still survives today, and can be seen on the north side of the airport, opposite the terminal.

The 1950s and 1960s

The government announced plans for a new terminal building in 1958, as well as a runway extension, control tower, and loop road around the airport. By 1962 the new control tower had been built, and in 1964, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, officially opened what is still used as the main terminal building.

In the 1960s Prestwick Airport was also visited by, what some may call, a different type of royalty. Elvis, known to many as the ‘king of rock and roll’, flew into the airport when a plane he was on, travelling between Germany and the US, stopped to refuel. It is considered the only piece of UK territory on which Elvis would ever set foot, although there are some accounts of the star spending a day secretly visiting other parts of Britain.

The future for Prestwick

Prestwick Airport has seen many developments in its history, including extensions to the Prestwick Airport Parking facilities, such as the Prestwick Off Airport Parking facilities and also the Prestwick Short Stay Car Park. As Prestwick continues to thrive, millions more travellers will step through its gates.