Southampton airport History

Southampton Airports history stretches all the way back to World War 1 when it was used as a base for American pilots. Construction began in 1917 on the airfield and upon competition it is recorded that around 4,000 pilots and personnel were based there.

In 1921 the airfield took on a very different role and was used for accommodating Russian refuges that were eager to get to America. As a result the Atlantic Park Hostel Company was formed at the airfield in order for them to be housed properly on a temporary basis.

Although intended to be a temporary housing site changes to American laws on immigration meant many could not get there and in 1924 the site still had nearly 1000 refugees living there. Numbers continued to grow and in 1928 nearly 30,000 refugees were staying there or passing through which over the next few years dropped sharply. By 1931 the site was no longer needed and Southampton Corporation took control of the site in 1932 transforming it into Southampton Municipal Airport.

Southampton Municipal Airport is probably most famous for the activities of 1936 when the iconic Spitfire first took to the skies from the site after its rushed development due to the impending need for the UK to have a front line fighter plane due to the building threat of war in Europe.

During the Second World War the site was used for the training of Royal navy personnel and suffered serious bombing by the Germans attempting to halt the aircraft manufacturing that was also taking place there. In 1945 at the end of hostilities the airport returned to civilian control with a regular Channel Islands service being run.

In the 1960's the airport was purchased by Mr. J.N. Somers giving it a healthy future as many improvements and modifications were made, the most notable of which was a 1,723 metre concrete runway. In its first year of business around 270,000 passengers used the airport which dipped in the 1970's however more investment was made with the addition of a new control tower.

In 1984 Airports UK Ltd. took control of the airport and set about improving the facilities there. In 1990 BAA acquired the airport and began planning a series of improvements that began in 1993. Upon completion of this work the airport was re-launched by the Duchess of York and within a few years the passenger throughput was over half a million. The Southampton Airport has continued to grow and today flies over a million passengers annually.