Please find below a brief history of Belfast Airport which we hope that you will find useful. If you wish to make a booking for Airport Parking at Belfast then please use the search form on your left. Here are some of the key dates in the History of Belfast Airport.
1917 - Belfast Airport, then known as Aldergrove, became the Royal Flying Corps training establishment in the First World War
1933 - Northern Ireland's first sustained civil air service began from Aldergrove
1939 - 1945 Aldergrove became an RAF base
1970 - £3 million development of the Airport began
1977 - Shuttle service between Belfast and Heathrow launched
1983 - Aldergrove was renamed Belfast International Airport
Below you will find more information of each on the key dates in the history of Belfast Airport from the timeline above.
1917 - During the First World War, Aldergrove became the site of training for the Royal Flying Corps. Following the First World War and the before the Second World War the Airport was used for some civilian air traffic.
1933 - Sustained civil air services began in 1933 with a route between Aldergrove and Glasgow. This was then expanded to include routes to the Isle of Man, Liverpool, and London
1939 - During the second world war Aldergrove continued to be an RAF base.
1970 - In 1970, following record passenger numbers in 1969, the airport underwent a £3 million development which improved the airport's infrastructure. As part of this a 3,000ft extension to the main runway was made.
1977 - In 1977 a shuttle service between Belfast and Heathrow began, operated by British Airways. The first scheduled service to a European city was started by NLM Cityhopper flying to Amsterdam.
1983 - In 1983 Aldergrove Airport was renamed Belfast International Airport.
2005 - Following privatisation in the 90's and record passenger growth in 2005 Continental airlines added the first direct flights to New York from the airport.