Woolsington (Newcastle Airport)
Location :5.8 miles north-west of Newcastle city centre
OS Ref : NZ 194 710
During 1929 the Newcastle City Council started discussing the feasibility of creating a municipal airport. This became a reality in 1933 when a site near the village of Woolsington was selected. The airport the site occupied 107 acres though a total of 345 acres had been purchased by the council for future expansion.
The first aircraft movement was on 20th June 1935, over a month before the airport was officially opened when a pilot thinking the airfield was Cramlington landed at Woolsington in error.
Woolsington opened on Friday 26th July 1935 by the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Liste (who became Lord Swinton) who arrived at noon in a 24(Communications) Sqn D.H. Dragon Rapide. A display of RAF & private aircraft including a flight of Tutors from the CFS at Wittering and the Sir Alan Cobham's flying display team helped celebrate the event. It originally cost £35,000 to build the clubhouse (designed by Newcastle architect Mr. Sydney Wilson), hangar, workshops, fuel garage and grass runways, these having runs of 700 yards (East to West), 750 yards (North to South) and between 950 and 1,000 yards on other diagonals. The airport was initially managed by the Newcastle Aero Club under the presidency of Col. Sir Joseph Keed, Capt. J. D. Irving (chairman) and Mr. F. L. Turnbull (secretary), the club having relocated from its former location at the Cramlington aerodrome. The following day the airport was the destination for the 6th London-Newcastle air race where competitors raced for the Newcastle Trophy and other prizes. Ironically as Woolsington opened, the city's only air service was closed down (though the service was re-introduced later). North-Eastern Airways with an Airspeed Envoy made the last scheduled journey from London to Edinburgh via Newcastle as a competitor in the air race, the lack of D/F and radio facilities at the time the reason for the withdrawal.
On May 23rd 1936, Woolsington was one of the airfields open to the public to celebrate Empire Air Day.
By February 1937 the airport had been upgraded with the installation of night-landing consisting of three fixed floodlights, a neon location beacon and boundary and obstruction lights. The air ministry also provided D/F (direction Finding) radio equipment. This year also saw the airport being used as a control centre for the Kings Cup Air Race.
During the build up to the Second World War saw No.43 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School forming at Woolsington. The unit was part of No.50(Training) Group and was operated by the Aero Club to offer basic flying training for the RAF. During the period of war, no real significant units were based, perhaps the most important was the non-flying unit No.83 MU. This maintenance unit was responsible for recovering crashed aircraft, brining them back to Woolsington and salvaging them for useful parts for re-use. It remained active until April 1946 to be replaced by No.63MU to perform similar tasks.
When the airport was handed back to the council in 1946 a wooden air traffic control tower, built on stilts and supported by sections of railway lines had been erected.
In 1952 Woolsington was host to the National Air Races where four trophies were available for competing airmen & women.
In 1954 the first concrete runway was laid making the airport available for much larger aircraft. On 1st April 1957 BKS started scheduled operations from the airport, opening a route between Newcastle and Dublin.
The North side of the airport was developed during the 1960's. During the winter of 1965/1966, the airport was closed while the entire runway was strengthened, resurfaced and extended, operations moving to nearby Ouston between 1st November & 31st March. A new terminal building and control tower were also built, the terminal officially opening on 17th February 1967 by Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
During the 1980's a parallel taxiway was constructed. The terminal was extended and improved in the early nineties, opening in May 1994 and extended further to how it looks today in 2004. Three years later, a new 45 metre high air traffic control tower opened in September 2007.
Based units
| Unit | Arrived From | Arrival Date | Dept Date | Departed To | Aircraft |
| 43 ERFTS | (Formed) | 01/06/1939 | 03/09/1939 | (Disbanded) | Hind, Tiger Moth, Magister, Audax |
| Durham UAS | (Formed) | 01/02/1941 | 25/03/1944 | Ouston | Tiger Moth |
| 278Sqn (Det.) | Coltishall | 21/04/1942 | 1943 | Coltishall | Lysander IIIA, Walrus |
| 281Sqn | Ouston | 14/06/1943 | 09/10/1943 | Drem | Anson I, Walrus |
| 27GS | (Formed) | 10/1943 | 06/1948 | Ouston | Cadet, Sedbergh |
| 62OTU (satellite) | Ouston | 22/11/1943 | 06/06/1945 | Ouston | Anson |
| Durham UAS | Thornaby | 1945 | 12/1945 | Ouston | Tiger Moth |