More than 13 million passengers used Edinburgh Airport in 2017, making it the busiest ever year for a Scottish airport.
A total of 13,432,485 people passed through Scotland’s busiest airport in 2016, an additional one million passengers when compared to 2016, with international passengers driving growth – up almost 14 per-cent as 32 of the 34 new routes launched at the airport in 2017 were to international destinations.
Growth was helped by another record month at the airport as December saw 925,017 passengers using the terminal. It was the busiest ever December at the airport.
Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport Gordon Dewar said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Edinburgh Airport – to welcome more than 13 million passengers is a real triumph and one that we are delighted by.
“That success is of course down to the vast choice of destinations we offer, our partner airlines and businesses, but it’s also down to the dedicated and expert staff who work across our campus to ensure the airport operates smoothly and successfully. We thank all of them for the sometimes unseen work that they do that is so crucial to our operations.
“We’ve already announced new and extended routes this year and construction continues on our £80 million extension project so we are preparing for further growth. We know we play a crucial role in the economy and we want to use Edinburgh and Scotland’s global appeal and standing to bring further benefits – but that sense of adventure that an airport offers is also important to us.
“We are excited about what 2018 will bring and we hope to deliver more choices and destinations for our passengers throughout the year.”
13,432,485 passengers used Edinburgh Airport in 2017 making it the busiest year in the airport’s history and the busiest year ever for a Scottish airport.
Overall passenger numbers were up 8.6% or 1,065,987 passengers on last year. Growth came from international services, with 32 of the 34 new routes launched at the airport in 2017 being to international destinations.
925,017 passengers used the airport in December 2017, an increase of 7.2% on December 2016. December 2017 is the busiest December on record for Edinburgh Airport
Growth came from international services.
- Ryanair’s sixteen new routes launched in 2017 (including Katowice, Toulouse, Wroclaw, Baden, Budapest, Nantes, Venice (Treviso), Carcassonne, Prague and Valencia which launched at the end of October for the 2017 winter season) boosted passenger numbers. In addition Marseille operated in December this year and more passengers travelled to Fuerteventura.
- easyJet’s passenger numbers were up on December 2016. More flights operated to Amsterdam, Paris CDG, Milan and Geneva. Bilbao launched in April 2017 and the new twice weekly service Sofia service which launched in December also increased passenger numbers.
- Jet2.com continued their passenger growth at Edinburgh. More flights operated to Alicante, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura than in December 2016. Malaga did not operate in December last year and the new weekly Madeira service launched in October 2017, further boosting passenger numbers.
- Norwegian’s new transatlantic services to Providence Rhode Island, Stewart International (New York) and Bradley International (Hartford/Connecticut) increased passengers compared to last December. More services operated to Oslo and Stockholm that last December and more passengers travelled on those services, further increasing passenger numbers.
- Eurowings service to Munich was new for 2017 and Dusseldorf did not operate last December.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
