Glasgow (i /ˈɡlæzɡoʊ/ GLAZ-goh; Scots: Glesga listen Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu, pronounced [ˈkɫ̪as̪əxu]) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian.
Glasgow grew from the medieval Bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, which subsequently became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with British North America and the British West Indies. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of Heavy Engineering,most notably in the Shipbuilding and Marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period. Today it is one of Europe's top twenty financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses. Glasgow is also ranked as the 57th most liveable city in the world.
Glasgow is known for its tenements. These were the most popular form of housing in 19th- and 20th-century Glasgow and remain the most common form of dwelling in Glasgow today. Tenements are commonly bought by a wide range of social types and are favoured for their large rooms, high ceilings and original period features. The Hyndland area of Glasgow is the only tenement conservation area in the UK and includes some tenement houses with as many as six bedrooms.
Glasgow International Airport (Scottish Gaelic: Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu) (IATA: GLA, ICAO: EGPF) (formerly Glasgow Abbotsinch Airport) is an international airport in Scotland, located 8 miles (13 km) south west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire. In 2010 the airport handled 6,548,865 passengers, a 9.4% annual reduction, making it the second busiest in Scotland, after Edinburgh Airport, and the eighth busiest airport in the United Kingdom.
The airport is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates five other UK airports, and is itself owned by ADI Limited, an international consortium, which includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and GIC Special Investments, that is led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group. The Airport is a base for airlines such as BMI Regional, EasyJet, Flybe and Loganair, Jet2, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways, and also houses maintenance facilities for British Airways.
The airport is currently linked to Glasgow City Centre by Glasgow Shuttle bus service 500. This is run by First Glasgow under contract to BAA. Started in 2011, the service runs 24 hours a day, direct via the M8 motorway. Prior to this, Arriva Scotland West ran the 500 as the Glasgow Flyer, which started in 2007, but they have since lost the contract to provide airport services. This service still runs in competition with the First/BAA offering, but has been moved from the main arrivals bus stop. Before 2007, Arriva and Fairline Coaches ran this service as route 905, under contract to Scottish Citylink, and this ended following the introduction of the Flyer. Fairline later introduced a new Glasgow Airport Link service using the old route 905 number, but this has since been dropped and replaced by First Bus as the 747 route.
