Credit: Matt Brown via Flickr / CC BY 2.0
When considering the capital’s international airport offerings; there are really only a few big names that spring to mind. Gatwick? Sure. Heathrow? Absolutely. London City? Why not? Luton and Stanstead? Ugh, if I absolutely have to, I guess. A name that doesn’t tend to spring to mind quite so easily, however, is Croydon. In fact, aside from whizzing past it on route to Gatwick, Croydon isn’t a place I’d associate with air travel at all. But that hasn’t always been the case, folks. Quite the opposite, actually. Croydon was once the largest airport in the whole world, and played a pivotal role in the development of air travel. Yes, really…
Croydon Airport
The trailblazing transport hub was opened in 1920 by Imperial Airlines (Britain’s first national airline). It began by offering flights to various European cities, but it wasn’t long before it started operating flights to the likes of India, East Asia and Africa. Croydon Airport had quite the record-breaking beginning. It was home to the world’s first purpose-built terminal, the world’s first air traffic control tower, and the world’s first airport hotel. It also boasts some fairly impressive claims to fame.
Credit: Matt Brown via Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Croydon airport offered flying lessons, and (among others) saw both Winston Churchill and Amy Johnson take to the sky. In fact, Johnson took off from Croydon Airport to become the first woman to fly solo to Australia. So, yes – it really was a pretty big deal.
During World War II, Croydon Airport acted as a Royal Air Force station, and was heavily bombed. Following the war, Croydon was unable to expand to meet the demand of British air travel, and that’s when the London Airport (the spot that would later be known as Heathrow) came and somewhat stole its thunder.
London Airport opened in 1946, and steadily continued to expand. It was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966, and – well – the rest is history, really. The final flight took off from Croydon Airport on September 30, 1959 – and it’s now another forgotten fragments of London’s intricate transport tapestry.
Credit: Matt Brown via Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Visiting Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport’s primary structures still remain in place to this very day. And despite Londoners no longer being able to hop on a flight there; they can pay still the aviation hub a visit. Croydon Airport’s visitor centre opens to the public on the first Sunday of every month, allowing Londoners (and beyond) to have a nosey around it, and learn more about the fascinating history of this pioneering airport.
Tours must be booked in advance, and you can find out more and plan your visit here.