RAF Llandow

Military downsizing and rationalization. As a temporary airfield built for World War II, RAF Llandow was deemed surplus to the requirements of the peacetime Royal Air Force following the war. Its closure was part of a broader trend of decommissioning wartime airfields across the United Kingdom.

The site is no longer recognizable as an airport. The former runways and perimeter tracks were converted into the Llandow Circuit, a popular motorsport venue that opened in 1963 for car and motorcycle racing. The site also contains the Llandow Karting circuit. Much of the remaining land has been redeveloped into the Llandow Trading Estate, an industrial park with numerous businesses. Some areas are used for agriculture. While the aviation infrastructure is gone, some original wartime buildings, including hangars and pillboxes, still exist on the site and are used by the various businesses.

RAF Llandow was a significant military airfield that opened in 1940. During World War II, it served primarily as a major training base. It was home to No. 38 Group RAF, which trained airborne forces, including glider pilots and paratroopers, for critical operations. The station also hosted No. 53 Operational Training Unit (OTU), where pilots were trained on Supermarine Spitfires. After the war, its role transitioned to storage and maintenance, becoming a Royal Naval Aircraft Receipt and Despatch Unit managed by No. 49 Maintenance Unit, responsible for storing large numbers of surplus Fleet Air Arm aircraft. The airfield is tragically famous for the Llandow Air Disaster on March 12, 1950. An Avro Tudor V aircraft, transporting Welsh rugby fans home from a match in Ireland, crashed on its final approach to the airfield. The crash resulted in the deaths of 80 of the 83 people on board, making it the world's deadliest air disaster at the time and an event that remains deeply embedded in Welsh history.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Llandow as an airport. The land has been comprehensively redeveloped for motorsport and industrial use for over 60 years. The proximity of Cardiff Airport (CWL), the primary international airport for Wales located just a few miles to the east, eliminates any strategic or commercial need for another airport in the area. Reopening would require the acquisition and demolition of the Llandow Circuit and the industrial estate, making it economically and logistically unfeasible.