In 1983 I was on holiday in Tangier. I took the opportunity to fly to Gibraltar for the day on their then sole aircraft, G-BBVH, which was ex New Zealand National Airways and was reputedly the most pampered airliner on the British register. This arose due to the fact that its regular work was from the Rock to Tangier and back twice a day plus the odd charter with a "holiday" twice a year in the UK for two weeks for major maintenance to ensure the corrosive atmosphere in Gibraltar was kept at bay.
The Bland family was still in control holding 51% of the shares, the remainder being held by British Airways which had inherited the shares from BEA. A London service had been operated by BEA and BA aircraft for many years under a Gibraltar/BA flight number and Manchester was similarly served intermittently.
When the airline expanded it moved to Gatwick as it could take advantage of its British status, avoid the problems of basing aircraft at a relatively small airfield with a permanent corrosion problem and have a major catchment area around its base without the problems of a testy neighbour which restricted airspace and closed the land border from time to time.
Thirty years on from the move nothing has changed.
Incidentally, the flight times to and from Gibraltar from Tangier were 12 and 13 minutes respectively. Outbound the passengers were joined in the cabin by a cageful of hens and a sheep. The aircraft approached the field over the dockyard, turning finals at approx half a mile. On the return journey the turbulence generated by the Rock was evident on rotation before the main wheels left the ground.