Glasgow no longer Scotland’s busiest

Glasgow Airport recently lost its status as the busiest airport in Scotland, passed by Edinburgh Airport. Nearly nine million passengers chose to fly through Edinburgh between August 2006 and July 2007.

“We’re experiencing very strong growth,” said managing director David Johnston. “Sixteen new services have already come on board in 2007 and a further 12 will start later this year.”

Passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport declined significantly following the terrorist attack at the airport in June, leading to a drop in total passengers this year. Some 8,799,596 people flew through Glasgow between August 205 and July 2006 whereas only 8,797,393 flew this year.

Johnston was quick to mention the importance of security at all airports in Scotland.

“We are extremely busy, but our key priorities remain security, safety and service,” he said. “Our newly opened security search area on the ground floor of the terminal is helping to ease congestion at peak times and ensuring 95 per cent of passengers pass through security within five minutes.”

In most airports across the UK, passenger numbers are on the increase this year, despite tightening security measures and long line ups at the airport. The Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport had a 17.3 per cent increase in passenger numbers this year, for example.