George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Belfast Harbour and is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems aircraft manufacturing facility. The airport began commercial operations in 1983, and was known as "Belfast City Airport" until it was renamed in 2006 in memory of George Best, the professional footballer from Belfast. The airport has a CAA public use aerodrome licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.