page_title: V. C. Bird International Airport
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: V. C. Bird International Airport / History
caption_attribution_description: VC Bird International Airport, Antigua
context_page_description: V. C. Bird International Airport is an international airport located on the island of Antigua, 8 km northeast of St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda.
context_section_description: The airport originally was operated by the United States Army Air Forces.
  The airport was built as a United States Army Air Forces base around 1941, and named Coolidge Airfield after Capt. Hamilton Coolidge (1895–1918), a United States Army Air Service pilot killed in World War I.
  Flying units assigned to the airfield were:
  35th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 11 November 1941 until November 1942
  12th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 23 November 1943 until 24 March 1944
  4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Antilles Air Command) 21 May until 5 October 1945
  Renamed Coolidge Air Force Base in 1948, it was closed as a result of budgetary cutbacks in 1949, with right of re-entry retained by the United States. Agreements were subsequently reached with the United Kingdom and, later, the Antigua government upon independence, for the establishment and maintenance of missile tracking facilities. Antigua Air Station was established on a portion of the former Coolidge AFB. As of 2011, NASA continues to utilize the Antigua facility for launch tracking services on an as-needed basis; and did so for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory on 26 November 2011.
  Upon the closure of the base in 1949, it became a civil airport. It was known as Coolidge International Airport until 1985, when it was named in honor of Sir Vere Cornwall Bird (1910–1999), the first prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda.
  In December 2005, the Antigua and Barbuda Millennium Airport Corporation announced it would invite tenders to construct the first phase of a new passenger terminal designed to serve the airport for 30 years. In 2012, they announced the construction of its second terminal.
  The new terminal became operational on 26 August 2015. All flights operate from the new facility. The terminal covers 23,000 square meters (247,570 square feet), with four jet bridges, modern security screening facilities, up-to-date passenger processing and monitoring facilities, and a CCTV security system. It contains 46 check in counters, 15 self-check in kiosks, 5 baggage carousels, mini food court, multiple VIP lounges, bank, retail stores, first class lounges, restaurants, and other facilities. Other improvements included a newly constructed car park; parallel to the old terminal, along with other airport offices.
caption: The former terminal, now used as offices
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