Edinburgh airport History

During the First World War Turnhouse Airfield was the most northern air base in the UK. Opened in 1915 it was occupied by 603 squadron and flew amongst others the Hawker Hind and Hart. In 1918 the Ministry of Defence took control of the airfield.

With the outbreak of war in 1939 Turnhouse Airfield like most others was used by the military and fighter command took overall control of all operations from it. Due to advances in aircraft technology it now required a paved runway to handle the Spitfires flying from the base, which was duly constructed.

At the end of war the airport remained in military hands, however by 1947 commercial services had resumed between Edinburgh and London.

In 1952 improvements were made to the runway after military recommendations required that it be lengthened to handle the new Vampire fighters that were entering service with the RAF, and in 1956 a new terminal building was constructed due to the increase in commercial traffic, which was extended five years later.

In a strive for more efficient commercial services the airport was withdrawn from military use in 1960 and in 1971 the British Airports Authority (BAA) took overall charge. This transfer of responsibility lead to improvements being made to the terminal building and runway to handle the increased traffic and larger aircraft.

In 1977 due to issues with the original one, a new 8,500ft runway was constructed as well as a new terminal which was located closer to the new runway and was also capable of handling the increased traffic the terminal would create. The old buildings were converted into storage areas for cargo.

The 1980's saw very limited international operating for the Edinburgh Airport but towards the end of the decade BAA invested more money and the terminal buildings were upgraded.

A terminal extension opened in 2006 added more gates and more extensions are planned in the future as part of a £1billion investment programme by BAA.