Ryder Cup boosts Scots airport passenger numbers

Edinburgh Airport saw a 2.9% increase in passengers. Picture: Jane Barlow

Edinburgh Airport saw a 2.9 per cent increase in passengers in September while Glasgow Airport recorded a 2.4 per cent rise.

Aberdeen Airport experienced a 6.8 per cent rise on the previous year, handling 343,951 people over the month.

The capital’s airport handled 987,674 travellers last month and has dealt with more than four million passengers in the four months between June and September - meaning 2014 was its busiest summer ever.

It said the development in long-haul services to the US, Canada and the Middle East has driven the growth.

International passengers rose by 6.3 per cent on 2013, though domestic passenger numbers saw a slight drop of 1.4 per cent following the end of the easyJet service to London Southend.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “Summer 2014 has been very successful for us and seeing over four million passengers in as many months is a great achievement. Our teams have been working extremely hard and have delivered some amazing results to help give our passengers the very best experience.

“It’s also been a tremendous summer for Scotland and we should credit the amazing events of the past few months for helping us achieve such high passenger figures. The Ryder Cup saw huge numbers of visitors to Scotland and we had one of our busiest departure days ever on the 29th of September with all transatlantic flights and connections from Edinburgh full.

Glasgow Airport reported its 20th consecutive month of growth, handling 783,000 passengers in September which was a 2.4 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The airport said international traffic, up 5.5 per cent on last year, was the main driver of growth with airlines such as Emirates, Icelandair, KLM, United and US Airways all reporting an increase in demand.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “The Ryder Cup was hugely successful in attracting visitors from across the globe to Scotland and we enjoyed a lift in passenger numbers as a direct result. It was no surprise that our US carriers, as well as Icelandair and KLM, all experienced an increase in demand, particularly for business class seats.

“We made a very encouraging start to October with the welcome news Virgin Atlantic is to increase capacity on its Orlando service, and Canadian airline WestJet will further strengthen our long haul connectivity when it introduces direct flights to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2015. We are also looking forward to welcoming Ryanair which will start flying from Glasgow for the first time when it launches its new base at the end of the month.”

Aberdeen Airport said helicopter passenger numbers were up by 30 per cent on the same period last year.

However it said much of that growth can be attributed to the knock-on effect in September 2013 of the grounding of much of the fleet after a Super Puma helicopter crashed off Shetland on August 23 last year with the loss of four lives.

Fixed-wing aircraft passenger numbers grew by 3.7 per cent, with domestic travellers up 2.3 per cent and international passenger numbers rising 6.4 per cent.

Aberdeen Airport managing director Carol Benzie said: “It has been another great month for our passenger numbers which is very pleasing to see. We are reporting growth across the board once again.

“The growth can be put into perspective when you consider that we are comparing September 2014 to September 2013, and last year we felt the impact of the Offshore Europe conference. To record 6.8 per cent growth in a month without Offshore Europe in the numbers is unprecedented.”