This period once again saw an expansion of service, particularly in scheduled routes to Europe. British Midland also first introduced scheduled services on the London to Glasgow route in the 1980's.

Once again, during this period, the airport increased the number of airlines using the airport, with Monarch, Air 2000, TAP and Balkan all starting to use the Airport. The size of aircraft being handled by the aircraft also increased, with Aviaco being the first airline to use a Boeing 747 on a regular service. Other airlines, in particular the package operators increased the size of aircraft they used on some routes, with many introducing Airbus A300 and A310 aircraft. This period also saw the expansion of the British Airways Glasgow - London services with the introduction of the "Super Shuttle" service in 1983, with the larger Boeing 757 taking over from the aging British Airways Trident 3 aircraft. British Airways marked the inauguration of this service by bringing 3 of there Concorde aircraft into the Airport at once, to promote the new service.