Airport soars above Glasgow to become Scotland's busiest

Published on Wednesday 9 January 2008 09:25

EDINBURGH Airport has been officially crowned as Scotland's busiest, according to new passenger figures released today.

The Capital has beaten its west coast rival after seeing just over nine million passengers through its doors in 2007 – 300,000 more than Glasgow.

The airport has been ahead of Glasgow for passenger numbers since August, but latest figures show Edinburgh has come out top for the whole of 2007, with nearly 25,000 passengers a day.

The figures come the day after the Government announced that improvements to the airport was on its list of national planning priorities.

Amsterdam proved the most popular international destination of the year followed by the likes of Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt and New York.

Over the course of last year, 29 new international services were introduced at Edinburgh.

A further 14 new services are due to take off in 2008, including new flights to the US, France, Germany, Greece and Croatia.

More routes are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, including some from budget airline Ryanair, and airport operator BAA today said they expect 2008 to be just as busy.

David Johnston, the airport's managing director, said: "It has been a fantastic year for Edinburgh Airport and 2008 is already bringing exciting new developments such as Ryanair's expansion out of the Scottish Capital.

"We will also get our first-ever route to New York JFK with Delta Air Lines, which is also once again operating its Atlanta service.

"This year will also see BAA's biggest-ever capital investment programme at Edinburgh Airport, with 45 million earmarked for a series of major projects."

The figures show that Edinburgh handled 622,367 passengers in December, with international traffic up by 25.3 per cent.

The airport's multi-million investment programme will see the departure lounge double in size, with new shops, restaurants and bars being built.

Resurfacing of the airport's runway also forms part of the programme works to be carried out this year.

The improvements will be part of the first steps towards a 1 billion expansion.

City leader Jenny Dawe said: "That Edinburgh airport has been the busiest in Scotland for the whole year shows that Edinburgh is recognised nationally and internationally as a fantastic place to live, visit and do business."

New services for 2008

Alicante – Ryanair

Cardiff – flybe

Marseille – Ryanair

Paphos – flyglobespan

Frankfurt Hahn – Ryanair

Bremen – Ryanair

Pisa – Ryanair

Nice – easyJet

New York – Delta

Larnaca – Monarch

Rhodes – Monarch

La Rochelle – Jet 2

Toulouse – Jet 2

Dubrovnik – flyglobespan