 During World War II civil aerodromes were taken over for military use , existing military airfields were expanded , and new ones were built . This resulted in a significant inventory of facilities becoming available after the war . Pre @-@ war civil aerodromes , for example <unk> , were returned to civilian use . <unk> military airfields were closed , and in some cases , for example <unk> , subsequently re @-@ opened as civil aerodromes . The Ministry of Civil Aviation was created to regulate all civil aviation in the UK , and this task remained the responsibility of government departments until the establishment of the independent CAA in 1972 . 
