Airport expansion - 'The prospects are exciting for holidaymakers'

JUST when it seemed that no- one in Edinburgh was ready to predict dramatic progress anymore, up pops Edinburgh Airport with forecasts of a startling increase in air services.

An extra three million passengers flying in and out of the Capital before the end of the decade thanks to an extra 25,000 flights a year is the prediction – and a doubling of both within 30 years.

We have seen these kind of figures before but that was in the pre-recession days when we were being assured that trams would soon serve a newly redeveloped Waterfront with a population the size of a town like Dunfermline.

The airport, which had previously scaled back its projections, is now perhaps the only major institution in the city confidently predicting such growth.

And given that Edinburgh uniquely among UK airports is bucking the trend by consistently increasing passenger numbers shows it is no hollow boast.

The prospects are certainly exciting for city holidaymakers who are already enjoying direct flights to Florida for the first time.

And the fact that city-break visitors are filling so many of these extra flights highlights the crucial role the airport plays in driving our tourist trade.

Of course, in an environmentally-conscious age the rapid expansion of air travel does not come without concerns.

The prospect of a 20 per cent increase in flights by 2010 must be enough to make Scottish Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson break into a cold sweat as he plots how to deliver on a pledge to cut carbon emissions by 42 per cent by 2020. Perhaps new green technology will come to his aid.

As public sector jobs are cut in the Capital, the importance of a thriving airport will only grow.

And those who oppose its expansion should be ready to answer the question: who else is so well placed to create jobs for the city?

Calum, we salute you

THE achievements of super-slimmer Calum Laurie will be an inspiration to thousands of others.

By transforming his diet, taking up regular exercise and shedding the pounds, doctors say he is well on the road to effectively curing himself of the diabetes from which he has suffered for years.

His success is sure to inspire others to go out and try to do the same, but the only reward that Calum will care about is that he can look forward to many more happy years with his lovely granddaughters, Gracie, Rose, Anna and Emma.