RAF Burnfoot

Military drawdown. The airfield was a wartime expediency, built as a satellite landing ground for storage and maintenance. With the end of WWII, the vast network of such airfields was no longer required by the Royal Air Force, and it was deemed surplus to requirements.

The site has been almost entirely returned to agricultural use. Faint outlines of the runways and perimeter track are still visible from the air as crop marks or soil discolouration in the fields, a common feature of 'ghost airfields' in the UK. The eastern portion of the former airfield, adjacent to the A74(M) motorway, has been developed into a large commercial and industrial area, which includes the Gretna Services truck stop and a DAF Trucks dealership.

The site was officially known as RAF Gretna, though it may have been referred to locally as RAF Burnfoot after the nearby Burnfoot farm. The ICAO code 'GB-0170' is an unofficial identifier used in some non-governmental databases and is not a formal ICAO or IATA code.

RAF Gretna opened in 1941 as a Satellite Landing Ground (SLG) for No. 18 Maintenance Unit (MU), which was based at the larger RAF Kirkbride. Its primary role was not as an operational combat station but as a dispersal and storage facility. Aircraft, including fighters like Spitfires and Hurricanes, were flown into RAF Gretna and stored in the open air to reduce the risk of them being destroyed in a single enemy attack on the main base at Kirkbride. The site was essential for the logistics of receiving, storing, maintaining, and issuing aircraft to front-line squadrons.

None. There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airfield. The land is now privately owned, actively farmed, and partially developed for commercial use, making any future aviation activity highly improbable.