EDINBURGH Airport has recorded its busiest-ever April, with a 5.7 per cent year-on-year rise in passenger numbers to more than 1.2 million.

The increase was driven by a 7.2% year-on-year increase in international passenger numbers, to 757,608.

The airport highlighted the fact that Ryanair was last month flying on 15 routes to overseas destinations which were not operated by the budget carrier from Edinburgh the previous April.

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Edinburgh Airport also flagged easyJet’s use of larger aircraft for international, as well as domestic, routes. It also highlighted the boost to passenger numbers from Norwegian’s introduction of transatlantic services from Edinburgh to Providence and Stewart last June.

Domestic passenger numbers at Edinburgh Airport in April were, at 448,932, up by 3.1% on the same month of 2017.

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Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “It’s great to see growth in both our domestic and international markets, especially after a flat month in March due to the Beast from the East, and this has resulted in our busiest April ever.

“We’re flying to more destinations than ever before with 22 new routes launching since this time last year, 21 of those to international destinations.”

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Highlighting confidence in the outlook for passenger numbers, and flagging recent route wins, he added: “We’ve recently announced two fantastic additions in Beijing with Hainan and Dubai with Emirates and they will attract even more tourists and expand business opportunities, as will our direct flight to Washington with United which comes online later this month.”