History of Liverpool Airport - Airport Guides Network

First scheduled flight in 1930.
Official opening in Summer 1933.
Major construction took place in the 1930s to cope with the growing demand for passenger flights - in particular across the Irish sea.
First buildings to be built were a passenger terminal and aircraft hangars.
Hard surface runways were built during WWII to cope with the war aircraft.
After the war, the airport was owned by the Ministry of Aviation until 1961.
The local authority then took ownership of the airport and the main runway was extended.
This runway was opened in 1966, when the airport gained permission for 24 hour flights.
In the mid '70s, the airport was handed over to Merseyside County Council. When Merseyside County Council was turned into five Merseyside Borough Councils the airport was handed over to these.
The original 1930s passenger terminal was closed and replaced with a brand new one in 1986.
In 1990, British Aerospace bought 76% of the airport, making it the first UK airport to be controlled by the private sector.
By the mid '90s, passenger demand had grown sufficiently enough to warrant extensive renovations and expansion to the passenger lounges and arrivals hall.
Peel Holdings PLC took control of 76% of the airport in 1997.