Taking off
Year-on-year boost for airports but Aberdeen suffers due to oil crisis
Glasgow and Edinburgh airports enjoy major increase in passengers
GLASGOW and Edinburgh airports have enjoyed strong yearon-year increases in passenger numbers during the key Scottish summer holiday period, but Aberdeen continues to be hit by tougher times for the oil sector.
Edinburgh Airport said its passenger numbers in July had topped 1.2 million, up more than 10 per cent on the same month of last year. This was a fresh monthly record, beating the previous all-time high set last summer.
International passenger numbers at Edinburgh were up 10.2 per cent on July 2014 at 726, 243 last month. Domestic passenger numbers showed a 10.6 per cent year-on-year rise to 488,390 in July.
Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet played a part in boosting both international and domestic passenger numbers at Edinburgh, the airport noted.
In terms of July traffic, Edinburgh Airport also benefited from the staging of The Open golf tournament at St Andrews.
The airport also cited strong demand for long-haul services operated by Etihad and United.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “It was only two years ago, we [recorded] our first million-passenger month and now ... we have grown by [a further] 20 per cent. This is really pleasing, but it’s clear we’re going to have to invest further for next year as we anticipate more growth.”
He added: “We’re predicting August will be good for us too. It is always an exciting month in Edinburgh with more people visiting ... for the big festivals.”
Glasgow Airport recorded its busiest July in seven years, with a 13.7 per cent year-on-year rise in passenger numbers to 956,483.
International passenger numbers in July were, at 581,109, up by 15.3 per cent on the same month of last year.
Glasgow Airport said that long-haul services, including WestJet’s daily flight to Halifax in Nova Scotia and Virgin Atlantic’s direct route to Orlando in Florida, had reported particularly strong demand. It also cited the popularity of a new service to Budapest, which was launched by Wizz Air in June.
Domestic passenger numbers at Glasgow in July were, at 375,374, up by 11.4 per cent on the same month of last year.
The airport said Ryanair and British Airways had reported strong demand for services between Glasgow and the London airports.
Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Not only did we welcome close to one million passengers in July, we were also classified as one of the fastest-growing airports in Europe for the first half of 2015. Both of these factors underscore the significance of our exceptional growth this year.”
Ms McMillan noted passenger numbers at Glasgow this month would be boosted by people travelling from across the globe for events such as the World Pipe Band Championships and the UDO Worlds X Street Dance Championships.
Aberdeen Airport said that its domestic passenger numbers in July were down by 5.9 per cent on the same month of 2014.
It noted that helicopter traffic remained below 2014 levels, show- ing a 14.8 per cent year-on-year decline in July. However, Aberdeen’s international passenger numbers in July were up by 1.8 per cent on the same month of last year.
Carol Benzie, managing director of Aberdeen Airport, said: “We report a mixed set of figures this month. We are pleased to see an increase in international traffic on 2014 levels. However, domestic and helicopter traffic is trending below those levels, as we continue in the current challenging period for the energy sector.”
The Aberdeen economy is feeling the effects of lower crude prices, which have caused oil and gas companies to cut jobs, pay rates and other spending.
A survey published by accountancy firm BDO meanwhile shows that Aberdeen hotels experienced a sharp year-on-year fall in occupancy and revenues in May.
Occupancy in May in the Aberdeen hotel sector was 62.5 per cent, down from 75.7 per cent in the same month of last year.
Revenue per available room (revpar) in May was £52.45, down by 30 per cent from £74.88 in the same month of 2014.
Revpar is calculated by multiplying occupancy by average room rate achieved.