Flying colours

Published on Tuesday 27 April 2010 21:29

Last week Edinburgh Airport found itself involved in one of the biggest crises to hit aviation in years.

We're still counting the cost of the impact of the volcano that closed Scottish, UK and European airspace for six days. Much of the brunt of the impact will be borne by the aviation industry, but many others were caught up in the fall-out, most notably those passengers stranded in foreign airports and cities across the world.

When we realised the full extent of the crisis, I put a call for help out to the Edinburgh tourism community. We needed assistance with stranded passengers. The response was astonishing and does our city great credit.

Within a matter of hours, we were flooded with discounts on hotel rooms, meals and other facilities to make our passengers' stay as easy as possible. As well as the hotel trade, organisations including City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise all assisted.

I would like to express my deep thanks to the city for its warm and supportive response to people that were clearly in need.

It is this warmth that visitors have come to expect in the Capital that helps to ensure that it remains one of the world's key destinations.

GORDON DEWAR

managing director

Edinburgh Airport