Nostalgia: How time flies

EDINBURGH Airport started a new chapter in its life this week, after it was sold to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

The group, which runs Gatwick and London City airports, announced it is to buy the airport from current owners BAA for £807.2 million, and it is thought the change could bring new long-haul routes to the Capital.

The Turnhouse aerodrome was created in 1915, and was the most northerly British air defence base in the First World War used by the Royal Flying Corps.

In 1918, the Royal Air Force was formed and the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership transferred to the Ministry of Defence, and when the Second World War broke out it created a new runway capable of handling the Supermarine Spitfires.

It started dealing with commercial flights in the 1940s, running services to and from London, and since then the passenger facilities have continued to expand and improve.

Over the decades it has welcomed hundreds of celebrities and dignitiaries on their way to the Capital, although in 1965 a young Prince Charles used the airport to catch a flight back to Gordonstoun school.

The airport has played its role in history too, with local miners pictured heading down to London for a protest march on parliament in 1966.

The spectacular airfield, as well as serving as a launching pad for countless holidays to an increasing array of exotic locations, also used to host its very own air show, which even welcomed Concorde to the delight of amazed crowds.

Today, the airport deals with more than nine million passengers a year and with the new owners expected to add routes ,including to the Middle East, that figure looks sure to grow.