Cardiff airport History

In the 1940's the RAF decided to requisition land in the Vale of Glamorgan to set up an RAF base to be used in the war effort and to primarily train Spitfire pilots. Work began on the site in 1941 and and was officially opened in 1942. Based at the new airfield was No. 53 Operational Training Unit.

At the end of the Second World War the airfield had little investment until the 1950's when it was considered to be a financially attractive prospect. Soon after this flights to Dublin began along with Belfast, Cork and France. As a result of the increased use the airport required investment and this came in the shape of a new terminal building, and by 1962 the airport was annually handling 100,000 people.

The airport originally named Rhoose Airport was changed in the 1970's to Glamorgan, Rhoose Airport and it was not long after this that Concorde began one of several visits on special occasions however taking no passengers as the runway was too short for it to ascend fully loaded.

The runway issue was indicative of change and in 1986 it was extended by 750ft (229 meters) costing approximately £1m. This flexibility now meant larger newer aircraft could operate comfortably from it and this led to the creation of transatlantic links and was one of the reasons for the British Airways maintenance department to move to Cardiff as the airport could now handle its largest aircraft - the Boeing 747.

In 1995 the airport was privatised and TBI plc. a subsidiary of Abertis Airports purchased the Cardiff Airport. Cardiff Airport has a significant part to play in housing maintenance bases for various airlines and currently records an annual passenger throughput of 2 million.