Scottish airport passenger numbers show drop in flights

Published on Thursday 10 July 2008 10:35

PASSENGER numbers at Scottish airports fell last month, fuelled by a drop in charter flights, according to figures published today.

Airport operator BAA Scotland said 1,988,432 passengers used Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports in June – a drop of 1.8% on the same month last year.

Glasgow Airport saw the biggest fall, with passenger numbers down 4.9%.

BAA said this followed a 10.4% drop in charter traffic, with the number of seats available for sale down 6% on last year.

Passenger numbers also fell slightly at Aberdeen, down 1.9% on last year.

International traffic grew by 1.3% but the number of domestic passengers dropped by 4.9%.

Edinburgh bucked the trend, recording its busiest ever June with 859,382 passengers – a rise 1.5% on last year.

BAA attributed the growth to expansion by Ryanair, Monarch and US carrier Delta at the airport.

Spokesman Donald Morrison said: "We are continuing to see a drop in demand for UK routes, particularly flights to London.

"This is partly a response to the increasing availability and growing popularity of the direct international services now available from Scotland.

"There is no doubt too that airlines are reducing capacity in response to falling demand, rising fuel prices and higher taxes, all of which have resulted in tougher market conditions.

"Nevertheless, passenger numbers are up this year and we continue to work to attract new airlines and support our existing carriers by reducing airport charges, and improving service through increased investment."

In the year to June, BAA Scotland's three airports handled more than 21 million passengers, a rise of 0.6% on 2007.