International passengers soar
11.06.08
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, which operates Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh Airport, show international passenger numbers rose by 6.7 percent to 8.7 million in the year to May. However, domestic travel fell by 2.8 percent over the same period.
BAA said it has invested £111 million in expanding flights from its Scottish airports since 2002. In that period international traffic has grown by almost 40 percent, with dozens of new European and long haul routes added. This summer, almost 150 worldwide destinations will be served by the 3 airports, including 35 new routes.
A spokesman said: ‘Over the past six years, we have supported our airline partners to the tune of £111 million through reduced landing charges and direct marketing support, including £23.5 million last year alone.'
‘This investment has facilitated a massive expansion of international travel to and from Scotland, attracted major international airlines such as Emirates, Continental, Delta and US Airways, and supported the expansion plans of a number of UK airlines including easyJet and Flyglobespan.'
However, the figures released today also showed the number of people using BAA's Scottish airports last month was 3.8 percent lower than in May 2007. A fall of 6.4 percent in domestic traffic accounted for most of the drop, but international traffic was also slightly lower. BAA said that this was caused by consolidation of the major charter airlines, resulting in reduced capacity.
The 3 airports handled a total of 21.1 million domestic and international passengers over the 12 month period.
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