Exclusive:Edinburgh Airport condemned as 'disorganised, unwelcoming shambles' by former MP
Immigration queues and wait for baggage ‘a new low’
The “disorganised, unwelcoming shambles” of Scotland’s busiest airport has been condemned by a former SNP MP whose family arrived back from holiday this week to endure long queues and baggage delays along with hundreds of other passengers.
Douglas Chapman’s anger at Edinburgh Airport comes as just the latest of a series of severe criticisms by multiple travellers stretching back several years while members of its watchdog body have also raised concerns.
The airport offered no apology despite saying it shared responsibility with the other organisations involved “for ensuring our operations perform to the highest standards” - and said its passenger satisfaction rate was 89 per cent.
The fast-growing airport is on course for record passenger numbers after handling nearly 17 million last year and insisted it had “expanded the terminal as needed”, but observers believe it is struggling to cope.
Its terminal and other expansion plans to accommodate more passengers are estimated to run to nearly £1 billion, which officials admit are likely to cause “huge disruption”.
Mr Chapman said after arriving on time on a Jet2 flight from Madeira early on Tuesday morning, he was “struck by the lack of organisation and welcome we experienced”.
The former Dunfermline MP told The Scotsman: “Having been a regular traveller up and down to Westminster for nine years, I was more than aware of the shortcomings of Edinburgh Airport, but this was a new low.
“We were herded on to buses and driven using the most tortuous route possible into the terminal.
“The entrance to the terminal and walk to UK Border control is hugely uninspiring - usually the first impression of Scotland for any incoming tourist - then there's the queuing system for passport control.”
Mr Chapman said his family had to wait about 30 minutes to get through.
He said: “No organisation, two queues, one guy on a desk and an increasing number of frustrated passengers as our queue expanded to accommodate a flight which had just arrived from Tenerife.
“The whole process seemed unmanaged and badly organised, which added to the frustration.”
Mr Chapman said his family had to wait nearly 90 minutes for their bag, so missed their bus home and took a £50 taxi. He said: “Many other travellers have had similar treatment.
“Scottish people in particular seem appalled by the first impression of Scotland any arriving tourist gets as they arrive in Edinburgh to this disorganised, unwelcoming shambles.
“Compare that with our holiday destination, where our bag was on the belt before we got off the plane, we had a taxi lined up for the hotel with a €25 fixed fare and, most of all, airport staff were on hand to give us a warm welcome and a bright building gave us a great first impression of our holiday destination.”
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “We know Douglas well from his time representing Dunfermline and he is very aware of how an airport operates, including the responsibilities of airlines, their handling agents and UK Border Force.
“We understand tempers can fray when unforeseen delays are encountered and we’re glad he made it home safely.
“Constructive feedback is essential to our growth, and we value the insights we receive from our passengers.
“In 2025, we engaged directly with more than 67,000 of our 16.98 million passengers, achieving an overall satisfaction rate of 89 per cent.”
The airport said they completed a survey from a link provided when signing on to airport wifi.
It said this meant: “Each month, we survey around 5,500 passengers and act on that feedback, and we’re proud that the vast majority of responses are positive.“
The airport added: “Our infrastructure has evolved alongside our growing passenger numbers, and we’ve expanded the terminal as needed while maintaining a busy and complex operation.
“Aviation is a team game, and we work closely with a range of partners across the terminal, including agencies like Border Force, who manage specific areas. We all share responsibility for ensuring our operations perform to the highest standards and for addressing issues when they arise.”
Swissport, which handles baggage for Jet2 at the airport, said: “We apologise to passengers for the delay in receiving their baggage at Edinburgh Airport late on Monday night.
“This followed disruption earlier in the day. Our teams worked closely together with our airline partners to ensure baggage was delivered as quickly as possible.”
A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We worked closely with Swissport on the night to ensure customers’ baggage was delivered as quickly as possible.”
Border Force, which checks arriving passengers’ passports, has been approached for comment.
Several business and public body leaders have severely criticised the state of the airport over the last two years.
Brechin City Football Club chairman Kevin Mackie described it as “frankly embarrassing” in a post on the business networking site LinkedIn which attracted nearly 800 mostly critical comments about the terminal.
In May, members of the Edinburgh Airport Consultative Committee raised concerns about the arrival experience at the airport.
They included Donald Spencer, who covers consumer affairs for group, said it was frequently mentioned on social media as “something that really does get to people.
“There are comments frequently made about the impression given to foreign visitors about when they arrive here."
The airport has said its development plans will see spending tripl to £150 million a year, including on an expanded departure lounge, more space for aircraft beside the terminal, extra departure gates and an amalgamation of the two international arrivals halls.
Chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “We are embarking on the biggest investment the airport has ever seen.
“If you thought you saw a lot of change in the last ten years, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
He has described the immigration hall, where passports are checked, as a “very temporary structure which has probably been in place for longer than we would have liked”.
He said it was “very industrial and dated” and “not the standard we aspire to”.
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