This view of the ramp shows the shape as it remains today.  Visible are several Dakotas, Vikings, a BEA Beech 18 and a couple of Skymasters, probably SAS.

The worlds first scheduled passenger service was operated from Northolt in July 1950.  Viscount G-AHRF flew to Paris - Le Bourget on the first of several flights that took place over a month.  Later it operated the first domestic services to Edinburgh.  These services were in preparation for the full introduction into service of the aircraft.

Another change to the BEA fleet was the refitting of Dart engines, similar to those on the Viscount, to some of their Dakotas.  Other improvements were made to the cabin of the aircraft and they were renamed as the 'Pionair'. Apart from being a useful tool to get used to the Dart engines it gave a significant improvement in passenger comfort.   The first commercial flight of this variant was performed from Northolt in late January 1952.

Another new type to see service at Northolt was the Airspeed Elizabethan of BEA which performed the scheduled route to Paris in September 1951.
 
 
 

Helicopter services from Northolt began in 1951 when BEA began a route from Heathrow - Northolt - Birmingham using Sikorsky S51s.  The service was relatively short lived, but various other routes were tried by BEA using Bristol 171 Sycamores and the twin rotor Bristol 173.  Later, Sycamores would be based in service with the RAF.

Hangers 5 and 6 appear behind the Sikorsky S51 in this photo, looking much as they do today.
 
 
 
 

During 1948, the follwing routes were scheduled:
Aer Lingus Dakota to Dublin, Shannon
Alitalia SM965 to Rome
BEA Dakota, Viking to Amsterdam, Athens, Belfast, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Gibraltar, Glasgow, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Istanbul, Jersey, Lisbon, Madrid, Malta, Nice, Orkney, Oslo,  Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich
CSA Dakota to Prague
Hellenic Liberator to Glasgow, Athens
Luxembourg Dakota to Luxembourg
SAS Dakota, DC6 to Gothenburg, Oslo, Stockolm,
Swissair Skymaster, DC3 to Basle, Berne, Geneva, Zurich

Although during the early 1950s services were running down and being transferred to the newly built Heathrow, some routes were still being inaugurated from Northolt.  The final scheduled flight was operated on 30th October 1954 by a BEA Pionair to Jersey.   BEA had operated over 300,000 aircraft movements over the eight years and handled over five million passengers.