RAF Nutts Corner / Belfast-Nutts Corner Airport

The closure was a planned relocation of Belfast's primary civil aviation services. The facilities at Nutts Corner were becoming inadequate for the increasing size of modern jet airliners and growing passenger numbers. The British government decided to move all civil flights to the nearby RAF Aldergrove, which had longer runways and more modern infrastructure. RAF Aldergrove was subsequently developed into the current Belfast International Airport.

The site is no longer recognizable as an airport. The runways and most of the original infrastructure have been removed or built over. The area has been extensively redeveloped and is now a major commercial and recreational hub. Its primary uses include the Nutts Corner Circuit, a popular motorsport venue for car and motorcycle racing, and the large Nutts Corner Market, one of the biggest outdoor markets in the region, held weekly. The remainder of the former airfield is occupied by various industrial estates, logistics companies, and commercial businesses.

RAF Nutts Corner was a strategically vital airfield during World War II. Opened in June 1941, it served as a major station for RAF Coastal Command, playing a key role in the Battle of the Atlantic by providing air cover for convoys. It was also a crucial transatlantic ferry terminal for RAF Ferry Command (later Transport Command), where thousands of aircraft manufactured in the United States and Canada were received before being dispatched to operational squadrons across the UK and Europe. After the war, in 1946, it was designated as Northern Ireland's main civil airport, taking over from Belfast Harbour Airport (Syon Park). As Belfast-Nutts Corner Airport, it served as the region's primary gateway for over 15 years, handling major airlines like British European Airways (BEA) and connecting Northern Ireland to Great Britain and Europe. The airport was the site of a major air disaster on 5 January 1953, when a BEA Vickers Viking crashed on approach, resulting in 27 fatalities.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Nutts Corner as an airport. The site has been thoroughly redeveloped for industrial, commercial, and recreational use. Furthermore, its close proximity (only a few miles) to the fully operational and well-established Belfast International Airport (the former RAF Aldergrove) makes any potential reopening both logistically impractical and economically unviable.