Scottish international flyers soar
10.06.08
The number of people taking international flights to and from BAA's Scottish airports has grown by more than half a million in the last year. Figures released today by BAA Scotland, which operates Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh Airport, show international passenger numbers rose by 6.7% to 8.7 million in the year to May. However, domestic travel fell by 2.8% over the same period.
BAA said it has invested £111m in expanding flights from its Scottish airports since 2002. In that period international traffic has grown by almost 40%, with dozens of new European and long haul destinations routes added. This summer, almost 150 worldwide destinations will be served by the three airports, including 35 new routes.
BAA Scotland spokesman Donald Morrison said: ‘Over the past six years, we have supported our airline partners to the tune of £111m through reduced landing charges and direct marketing support, including £23.5 million last year alone.'
‘This investment has fostered a massive expansion of international travel to and from Scotland, attracted major international airlines including Emirates, Continental, Delta and US Airways, and supported the expansion plans of a number of UK based airlines like easyJet and flyglobespan.'
However, the figures showed the number of people using BAA's Scottish airports last month was 3.8% lower than in May 2007. A fall of 6.4% in domestic traffic accounted for most of the drop, but international traffic was also slightly lower. BAA said that this was down to consolidation by the major charter airlines, resulting in reduced capacity.
The three airports handled a total of 21.1 million domestic and international passengers over the 12 month period.
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