1938: The Inauguration of an Airport in Belfast

March 16, 1938

A dedication ceremony was held for an airport built in the Sydenham ward of Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast. (This city also has the distinction of being the largest one in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.)  The inauguration of the facility originally known as Sydenham Airport was marked by considerable fanfare. The next day’s edition of the Western Morning News and Daily Gazette reported, “One thousand people who gathered to celebrate the occasion met in a great hangar standing on land that sixteen years ago was under six feet [1.8 meters] of water at high tide.”

This airport was officially opened by Anne Chamberlain (1883-1967), the wife of British prime minister Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940). The Guardian noted the following day, “Mrs. Chamberlain described the airport as one of the finest in the British Isles and one worthy of the city.”

This airport was eventually renamed Belfast Harbour Airport and then Belfast City Airport. The airport acquired its current designation in 2006. That was when it was formally renamed after Belfast native and world-class champion footballer George Best (1946-2005). George Best Belfast City Airport is second only to Belfast International Airport as Northern Ireland’s busiest airport.

(The above photo of the terminal building at George Best Belfast City Airport was taken in 2008.)

Photo Credit: Sue Adair / George Best Belfast City Airport / CC BY-SA 2.0

For more information on airports in the United Kingdom, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_the_United_Kingdom_and_the_British_Crown_Dependencies

Additional information on transportation in Belfast is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Belfast