International traffic helps lift Edinburgh Airport

EDINBURGH Airport has unveiled its highest-ever February passenger numbers, on the back of strong international traffic.

The airport said passenger numbers in February totalled 811,804, up 5.4 per cent on the same month of last year. This increase was achieved in spite of a 2.3 per cent year-on-year fall in domestic passenger numbers in February, to 388,163.

International passenger numbers at Edinburgh last month were up 13.6 per cent on February 2016, at 423,641.

Edinburgh Airport noted it had been boosted by the launch of 27 new international services in 2016.

It said Jet2 had launched 13 new routes from Edinburgh last year. The airport also noted new Jet2 services to Fuerteventura and Turin had been launched in December, “further boosting passenger numbers”. It flagged the popularity of Jet2 services to Alicante, Malaga, Tenerife and Geneva.

Edinburgh Airport also noted Ryanair had increased the number of services it offers on a year-round basis, citing the budget carrier’s flights to Bologna, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Palma and Poznan. It also pointed to the launch of Ryanair’s flights to Warsaw Modlin in November, and the budget carrier’s operation of more flights from Edinburgh to Dublin, Barcelona and Copenhagen.

The airport said Stobart Air had carried more passengers to Dublin and added this carrier’s Shannon service, launched last March, had boosted passenger numbers compared with February 2016. It also noted Veuling’s Alicante and Rome Fiumicino services had not operated in February 2016 – another factor boosting the year-onyear passenger number comparison last month. Saturday, 11th March, 2017