Passengers numbers fall at Edinburgh airport

PASSENGER numbers at Scotland’s busiest airport have fallen for a third consecutive month, with the 1.9 per cent drop in Edinburgh in September contrasting with a 3.1 per increase for rivals Glasgow.

Edinburgh, which handles nine million passengers a year, said it was still suffering from uncertainty created by the sale of BMI to British Airways’ parent firm.

However, it said international traffic was up despite a continuing row over charges with Ryanair, which has threatened to cut more routes.

BAA, which runs Glasgow 
airport, sold Edinburgh in June to Gatwick airport owner GIP after being forced to offload one of its airports following a Competition Commission investigation.

Glasgow, which has seven million annual passengers, said it had been boosted by increased holiday traffic such as to the Canaries, Balearic islands, Florida and Dubai.