GLASGOW Airport notched up a monthly passenger total of more than one million for the first time in a decade in July, on the back of a surge in international traffic, the latest figures reveal.
The airport yesterday announced that its passenger numbers totalled 1.018 million last month, up by 6.4 per cent on July last year. This is the first month since July 2006 in which Glasgow Airport has exceeded one million passengers.
Glasgow Airport handled 636,486 international passengers in July, up by 9.4 per cent on the same month of last year.
The airport noted that long-haul carriers Emirates and Virgin Atlantic had both reported a strong increase in demand.
Glasgow Airport added that European Union scheduled services had shown a 16.1 per cent rise as thousands of passengers headed for the Mediterranean and city breaks in Milan, Munich and Marseilles.
The airport also welcomed thousands of golfing fans attending The Open at Royal Troon last month.
Its domestic passenger numbers showed a year-on-year rise of 1.8 per cent in July, to 381,947.
Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Our strong performance in 2016 is a reflection of our continued efforts to enhance existing services and in attracting new routes.
“Route development continues to be a key priority in driving growth at the airport.”
Commenting on passenger traffic so far in August, she added: “August is already proving busy thanks to large-scale events such as Glasgow’s annual Piping Live festival, which will see thousands of international visitors and participating musicians travel through the airport this month.”
Edinburgh Airport also enjoyed further strong year-on-year growth in its overall passenger numbers last month.
It highlighted its achievement of a fresh record in terms of passenger numbers handled in a single month at a Scottish airport.
Edinburgh Airport handled 1.332 million passengers in July, up by 9.6 per cent on the same month of last year.
This increase was achieved in spite of a 3.6 per cent year-on-year fall in domestic passenger numbers, to 471,822 last month.
In the context of year-on-year declines in domestic passenger numbers in recent months, the airport has noted Virgin’s Little Red services between Edinburgh and London ended last autumn.
Edinburgh Airport’s international passenger numbers in July, at 860,460, were up by 18.5 per cent on the same month of last year.
The airport attributed the year-on-year surge in international passenger numbers to a raft of new routes launched at Edinburgh within the last year, including easyJet’s Stuttgart, Vienna and Venice services and Ryanair’s Copenhagen flights.
Chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “We are greatly encouraged to have smashed another record at Edinburgh Airport, with July being the busiest-ever passenger month at a Scottish airport.
“While we welcome this growth, it underlines the work we are doing at Edinburgh Airport to adapt and accommodate the ever-increasing number of people wanting to fly in and out of Scotland’s capital city.”
Aberdeen International Airport yesterday reported another year-on-year decline in its passenger numbers, as the oil and gas sector’s woes continued to weigh.
In terms of fixed-wing aircraft, Aberdeen’s international passenger numbers, at 102,365 in July, were down by 8.4 per cent on the same month of last year. Domestic passenger numbers, at 155,127 last month, were 18.7 per cent lower than in July 2015.
Helicopter passenger numbers showed a 22.3 per cent year-on-year fall to 35,644 in July.
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