Record year for city airport
GLASGOW Airport enjoyed another record year in 2017 as its annual passenger numbers rose by nearly six per cent to more than 9.9 million on the back of a jump in international traffic, the latest figures show.
The new record was achieved comfortably, in spite of a 1.5 per cent year-on-year fall in passenger numbers in December to 618,131. The airport attributed this drop to adverse weather conditions. Glasgow Airport faced disruption last month from heavy snow.
In 2016, Glasgow Airport recorded a 7.5 per cent rise in passenger numbers to 9.4 million, which was a record annual figure at that stage.
Edinburgh Airport also announced yesterday it had notched up another record for annual passenger numbers last year. International traffic drove an 8.6 per cent rise in overall passenger numbers at Edinburgh in 2017, to 13.43 million.
International passenger numbers at Edinburgh were last year up by 13.8 per cent on 2016 at 8.145 million. Domestic passenger numbers, at 5.287 million, were down by 1.5 per cent.
Edinburgh Airport noted it had in 2017 handled about one million more passengers than in the previous year. It added that, of 34 new routes launched at the airport in 2017, 32 were to international destinations.
Aberdeen International Airport announced it had in December achieved an eighth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in passenger numbers.
This enabled the airport, which has been hit hard by the oil and gas downturn in recent years, to record an increase in passenger numbers over 2017 as a whole.
Its passenger numbers tot alled 3.135 million last year, up by 1.86 per cent on the preceding 12 months.
Carol Benzie, managing director of Aberdeen International Airport, said: “Domestic fixed-wing traffic has driven much of the total passenger increases which has, in part, been due to chartered services being used by offshore workers to reach destinations such as Sumburgh and Wick, to then connect offshore via helicopter. This has, as a result, contributed to the decrease in helicopter passengers travelling directly from Aberdeen. In February, Flybe introduced its Aberdeen [to] London Heathrow route, bringing the weekly connections to the capital to 95 per week.”
Glasgow Airport said that “poor weather conditions” in December had meant domestic traffic was down by 5.2 per cent on the same month of 2016.
International traffic in December was up by 2.3 per cent on the same month of the previous year. The airport cited “strong demand for winter sun destinations including the Canary Islands and European city breaks”. It added that Christmas markets in Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, and Krakow had proved popular.
Glasgow Airport noted its passenger numbers over 2017 as a whole had been up by more than 533,000 on 2016.
Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “2017 was a fantastic year for the airport. To carry more than 9.9 million passengers is a huge achievement, and testament to the hard work put in by more than 5,000 people across the airport. It was also particularly pleasing we were able to considerably increase our connectivity, particularly across Europe, by securing more than 30 routes and services during the year.”
Edinburgh Airport highlighted the fact that it had in 2017 achieved the busiest-ever year for a Scottish airport.
Chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Edinburgh Airport – to welcome more than 13 million passengers is a real triumph.
“We have already announced new and extended routes this year and construction continues on our £80 million extension project – so we are preparing for further growth.”
To carry more than 9.9 million passengers is a huge achievement