Prestwick
Did you know?
"One of Scotland’s favourite airfields has always remained extremely popular. One newspaper letter once stated: ‘If God had designed an airport, it would have been Prestwick.’
"Also known as: | Glasgow Prestwick Airport / HMS Gannet / Monkton / Prestwick Airport / RAF Prestwick / RNAS Prestwick / The Window / USAAF Station 500 |
County: | South Ayrshire |
Current Status: | Aviation / Industry |
Date: | Opened December 1933 |
Current Use: | Active |
Used By: | RAF / FAA / Civil / Civil (foreign) / USAAF / USAF |
Landing Surface Types: | Unpaved, later paved |
The following organisations are either based at, use and/or have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield (as at 01/09/2011):
- Air Charter Corporation
- Aircraft Engineers Limited (AEL)
- AML Contracts Ltd
- Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Ayrshire Energy Ltd
- Ayrshire Joint Planning Unit
- Building Diagnostic & Assessment Services Ltd
- Caffe Ritazza
- Coll
- Cowan Executive Travel
- Diamond Financial Solutions
- Ecosse Associates
- Elvis Presley Bar
- Ewing & Co CPA
- First ScotRail
- Fotomania Ltd
- Full Circle Logistics
- G H Tooling Co
- Garrett Lee Ltd
- Glasgow Prestwick Airport Railway
- Greer Aviation
- Home & Away Express
- Howard Group Ltd
- Institute of Contemporary Scotland (ICS)
- Kilmurry Clinics
- Leaders UK and Ireland Ltd
- Monkton Community Council
- Neptune Seafoods Ltd
- Nuance Tax and Duty Free
- Prestwick Heritage Group
- Prestwick Library
- Prestwick North Community Council
- Reid Quantum
- Select Service Partner Ltd
- Sleek Media
- Starbucks
- Surprising Scotland Ltd
- The Food Village
- Ticket Generator Ltd
- W T Berrie
- WHSmith
- Yates
Notable Past Associated Organisations:
- BAA plc
- British Airports Authority
- Prestwick International Airport Railway Station
- Scottish Aviation Ltd
- Stagecoach Group
Main unit(s) present:
- No 1 AONS
- No 1 CANS
- No 1 (Coastal) OTU
- No 2 (Coastal) OTU
- No 2 Supplementary School of Wireless Telegraphy
- No 3 Radio Direction Finding School
- No 3 Radio School
- No 4 FP ATA
- No 4 FPP
- No 4A FP ATA
- No 4A FPP
- No 4B FP ATA
- No 4B FPP
- No 6 AACU
- No 7 AACU
- No 10 AONS
- No 12 E&RFTS
- No 12 EFTS
- No 102 Sqn
- No 114 Sqn
- No 141 Sqn
- No 253 Sqn
- No 263 Sqn
- No 600 Sqn
- No 602 Sqn
- No 603 Sqn
- No 610 Sqn
- No 615 Sqn
- No 800 Sqn
- No 807 Sqn
- No 810 Sqn
- No 814 Sqn
- No 819 Sqn
- No 820 Sqn
- No 825 Sqn
- No 845 Sqn
- No 1425 (Communication) Flight
- No 1527 BAT Flight
- No 1527 RAT Flight
- No 1680 (Transport) Flight
- No 1680 (Western Isles) Communications Flight
- AI/ASV School
- Air Caledonian
- Air France
- Air Wales
- BOAC
- British Airways
- Caledonian Airways
- Cargolux
- Cougar Flying Club
- Dan-Air
- Dubrovnik Airline
- Flybe
- Flyglobespan
- Flying Tigers
- Glasgow UAS
- Highland Express Airways
- KLM
- Monkton Flying Club
- Northwest Orient Airlines
- Orbest Orizonia Airlines
- Pan Am
- Prestwick Aero Club
- Prestwick Flight Centre
- Prestwick Flying Group
- Reserve Echelon (Fighter Flight)
- Ryanair
- SAS
- Scottish Airlines
- Scottish Airways Flyers
- Scottish Aviation Limited
- Singapore Airlines Cargo

A Canadair North Star, a development of the Douglas DC-4, and passengers at Prestwick, c.1950s. © Gordon Macadie
Various clips of work at Prestwick Airport, 1947. Courtesy of British Pathé
"The Prestwick Mystery", 1947. Courtesy of British Pathé