'CARDIFF Airport At Rhoose: 70 Years Of Aviation History' by Geoff Jones is a celebration of 70 years at Cardiff Airport through photographs.

Published last month, this £16.99 paperback original is the first dedicated photographic history of Cardiff Rhoose Airport.

Cardiff Airport began life as wartime satellite airfield RAF Rhoose, officially opening on April 7, 1942, and has grown to become one of the UK’s major civil airports.

Home of Cambrian Airways and used by a varied mix of international airlines, the airport has been continually upgraded since civilian flying began in 1952.

Aircraft maintenance has always been a vital part of the airport’s activity and BAMC is one of the largest buildings in South Wales and can accommodate four Boeing 747s at one time.

It is not only aircraft that comprise this airport’s lively history; many people have shaped it, including workers, travellers and even rugby celebrities. The supporter ‘air-lifts’ to and from matches are legendary.

2012 is the 70th anniversary of the first operations at this Vale of Glamorgan airfield.

Today Cardiff’s vibrant regional airport is an important gateway for air travellers coming to and from the Principality. Currently handling around 1.5 million passengers a year, it is ranked approximately 20th amongst UK commercial airports.

Little did those wartime pilots realise that one day their airfield would resound to the sounds of Concorde, jumbo jets and every contemporary aircraft imaginable.

The book includes a timeline of major events, demonstrates the importance of Cardiff Airport in a worldwide context, illustrates how vital the world-class facilities at Rhoose are in relation to the economy of the area and the region, and is packed with previously unpublished photographs and memoirs.

Geoff Jones was born and bred close to Rhoose Airport and later learned to fly there. Now running a civil engineering company in Guernsey, his family still lives close to the airport and he is a frequent visitor.

Geoff regularly writes and provides photographs for aviation magazines around the world and has some 14 books to his name.