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Cheap Southampton Airport Parking » Airport Information>History History of Southampton AirportAn Aircraft Acceptance Park was projected by the War Office who gave the Stoneham Farm to the US Navy. Its purpose was to develop the land into an assembly area for future bombing operations in Northern Europe. This was in 1917.
Four years later, shipping companies moved into the area and used the facilities. For a while flying stopped and did not begin again until later in the 1920s.
When the airport was sold to Southampton Corporation, the name changed to Southampton Municipal Airport. This happened in 1932. Within four more years, the airport was used to test Spitfire aircraft, which were designed and manufactured in nearby Woolston. The prototype Spitfire’s test flight was from Southampton and piloted by Captain Joseph Summers.
Of course, during the war years, the airport was no longer available for commercial purposes. The Royal Navy used it for training. With the end of the war, flights began again in 1945. The airport was once again a municipal airport with flights to the Channel Islands.
The 1960s brought some changes which made the future of Southampton Airport more secure. It was bought by Mr. J.N. Somers. Under his leadership, the runway was extended to 1723 metres along with other improvements in facilities. Within a year, 273,000 passengers passed through the airport.
The purchase of the airport by Mr. Somers was not all positive. In the 1970s when other airports suffered losses of traffic, Southampton also had lower passenger numbers. However, Mr. Somers built a new control tower during that time.
In 1984, Airports UK, Ltd was appointed to be the managers of the airport’s operational activities. Under their leadership, new improvements were made. Among them, in 1988 the airport applied for permission to open two new business parks and to redevelop the entire airport.
The airport was sold again to BAA plc. They invested 27 million pounds into an airport development program. The work began in 1993.
More recent developments include the opening of the airport under a new name by the Duke of York. The name was changed to New Southampton Airport.
Parking facilities were enlarged in 2001 with the multi storey car park which opened to augment the short-term parking already available at the airport.
Southampton is now one of the most modern regional airports in Europe with well over a million passengers passing through each year.
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