Edinburgh and Glasgow airports record busiest ever month

Scotland's biggest airports recorded their busiest ever month on record in July, with nearly 2.5 million passengers using the country's two main hubs.

Business at Edinburgh Airport, pictured, and Glasgow Airport is booming. Picture: Ian Georgeson

The rise in passenger numbers was even more pronounced at Glasgow Airport, where more than 1,082,000 passengers passed through its doors last month.

It represented the airport’s busiest ever month, as well as a 6.2 per cent spike in passengers compared to the same period in 2016.

The passenger increase at Edinburgh Airport was helped by an 8.6 per cent jump in international travellers, while at Glasgow Airport, international traffic grew by 10.1 per cent, driven by demand for long-haul routes to destinations including Dubai, New York and Orlando. EU-scheduled services were also up by 14 per cent.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “We are delighted to once again deliver the busiest ever month at a Scottish airport, highlighting the growing demand for flights into and out of Edinburgh Airport.

“And it’s incredible to think it was only in July 2013 when we had our first million-passenger month, so these figures demonstrate the phenomenal growth we have achieved.””

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “July is traditionally our busiest period of the year as passengers head off on their summer holidays, but to record our busiest ever month in 51 years of operation is a significant achievement. Looking ahead, Ryanair will introduce a number of new winter services in September and October to Frankfurt, Krakow and Madrid, while Lufthansa will also increase the current Munich service from one flight per week to four, ensuring we enter the second half in a position of strength.”

Aberdeen Airport also recorded an increase in passenger numbers, with 301,089 passengers travelling through the airport last month, up 2.7 per cent on July 2016. Domestic plane passengers increased 6.3 per cent year on year while international traffic rose 1.2 per cent.

Carol Benzie, managing director of Aberdeen Airport, said: “We believe that the modest return to growth being demonstrated in both domestic and international traffic mirrors the slowly growing confidence in the region.”