Airports in Scotland had a year of mixed fortunes with most airports recording an increase in passenger numbers and revenues while others recorded a slight decline. Glasgow airport for instance had its busiest month of February for the past eight years. Slightly more than 510,000 passengers travelled through its doors which is a 13.9% increase from a similar period in 2014. Edinburgh also enjoyed an increase of higher than 657000 passengers. Aberdeen on the other hand recorded a decrease in the passenger numbers which it attributed to bad weather patterns at the airport.
Glasgow’s growth of 24.9% lastmonth was mainly driven by continued demand for European destinations being served by Ryanair and whizzair. The increase in numbers at Glasgow airport was also boosted by a Europa League clash between Inter Milan and Celtic which saw thousands of their fans troop into the city. Domestic growth was driven by a strong performance from British airways, Flybe, Log air airlines. Ryanair three flights a day service to Stansted airport has performed well.
Amanda McMillanGlasgow’sCEO said that the success in securing new routes and attracting airlines has resulted in sustained growth in bothpassengers and revenues. The period between April and June will see an introduction of 13 new routes including some to LasVegas, Nova, Scotia and Prague. The CEO said they are continually improving services in order to accommodate this growth.
Edinburgh airport recorded a growth 8.2% in February boosted by more daily flights and rugby fans following the HSBC sevens in Scotland. Domestic passengers stood at 370,907 and international passengers were at 286,479. Aberdeen airport however showed a slowing growth at 0.9% fall in passenger figures. 211,934 passengers were reported during that month. Its passenger numbers were boosted by helicopter traffic off 41,070 passengers.