Busiest August on record for Scottish airports

Passenger numbers at Scottish airports have continued to soar, with records broken for August.

For the second consecutive month more than 1.4 million people passed through Edinburgh Airport.

It was the busiest August on record for the airport as 1,403,797 passed through its doors, just short of its busiest month in July which recorded 1,413,272 passengers.

Edinburgh’s festivals prompted a rise in international visitors of 11.4% on the same month last year.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “The attraction of those festivals was a driver in what is another record month for the airport, and it was also the first time we’ve had two consecutive months of 1.4-millionplus passengers, which is incredible.

“That growth is fantastic for the city and the country and is only going to continue, which is why we’re extending the terminal building as part of an £80 million investment plan to help the airport handle the forecasted record number of passengers.”

Glasgow Airport also enjoyed its busiest August on record, with more than 1,008,800 passengers recorded.

Airport chiefs say this was a 7% increase on the same period last year as they registered one-million-plus passengers during June, July and August for the first time in the airport’s history.

EU scheduled services increased 17% on last year’s figures.

Long-haul routes such as Virgin’s Orlando route and Emirates’ Dubai service were up 16% as the Dubai route recorded a four-million-passenger milestone in August.

Overall international traffic grew 12.4%, with transatlantic services to New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and Vancouver reporting strong demand.

Amanda McMillan, the managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Our August passenger numbers were also boosted considerably by a series of highprofile events including the World Pipe Band Championships.”

Aberdeen International Airport also reported a rise in total passenger numbers for August, with increases in both domestic and international passenger numbers.

Airport chiefs said that 292,607 passengers travelled through the airport, a 3.1% increase compared with August last year.