As far as I recall the airfield was closed for three or four days. The Pope and his entourage arrived in two S61Ns of British Caledonian Helicopters.
The Papal visit has been under discussion for some weeks and one has to presume that it has been known by the prospective new owner who has presumably already calculated the payment he and the airport tenants will require in compensation.
The question I keep asking is whether anybody doing the organising has noticed that the airfield is half the size it was in 1982, with many extra buildings (Fire Station eastwards) and ILS and DME aerials that were not there before.
I think the airfield is about 180 acres. Ignoring buildings and other no go areas, if 250,000 people turn up that gives them about 3.5 square yards each although the Pope will probably get a bit more than that....