Edinburgh soars into UK airports top five

GROWING passenger numbers have seen Edinburgh Airport overtake Birmingham and Luton to break into the UK's top five busiest airports for the first time.

Airport bosses said Edinburgh's year-on-year growth had recovered better from the effects of the volcanic ash cloud, despite being more badly affected at the time.

But environmentalists said the figures were "nothing to be proud of" in light of the challenge in reducing the effects of climate change.

Edinburgh Airport said consistent growth since the airport's best month yet in July had seen the airport move into the "upper league" of UK airports.

The top five UK airports based on passenger numbers in the year ending October 2010 are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Earlier this month the airport's managing director, Kevin Brown, said he hoped to help travellers bypass London by setting up more direct links to the Middle East and the United States.

The airport said passenger numbers had been steady from June onwards, picking up from August with modest growth being predicted month-on-month well into 2011.

Mr Brown said: "This is fantastic news for Edinburgh and its airport and reflects the status of the Capital as a major European destination.

"It underlines Edinburgh's importance to Scotland and the UK as a whole, and can only assist us as we compete across Europe to bring more flights to Scotland."

Mr Brown said the airport's success had been built on its reputation as a "responsive and ambitious" place with which to do business, as well as one the reputation of Edinburgh itself.

He added: "This combination makes Edinburgh Airport a fantastic proposition and is the key to our growth in what has been an incredibly tough period for aviation.

"We'll continue to focus on delighting our customers and look forward to more growth in 2011 that will see us cement our position in the top five UK airports for some time to come."

However, Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "In an era of climate change, the fact that the airport is getting busier is nothing to be proud of.

"The majority of flights from Edinburgh are short-haul - this is simply contributing to the problem of climate change which we will all have to bear the cost of."

Meanwhile, a controversial 1 drop-off charge, which was introduced by the airport owners BAA at the end of October, is said to be working well.

More than 6000 people signed a petition set up by Conservative MSP Gavin Brown calling on airport bosses to ditch the idea.

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